At an Arm's Length
by Aligator
Summary: Romance, angst and a QuistisSeifer story about the reality that some people take a little longer than others to find the one person who can love them. UPDATED! Chapter 26: No Good Deed Goes Unpunished
1. Prologue

The very talented people at Squaresoft own these characters, I'm just borrowing them for a little bit. Buy their games, and give them your money!

Author's note: I've been inspired by the awesome Quistis/Seifer pieces on this site, and I couldn't resist. Just about every possible plot point imaginable can be found in the fics already here, so I'm not necessarily aiming for incredible originality – just a semi-realistic portrayal of the characters and how two, in particular, deal with life after the end of the game. (I haven't played it all the way through, so don't expect a lot of technical details in this piece. They're really irrelevant in the great scheme of things for the story I'd like to tell.) 

This is my first multi-part endeavor, so please let me know what ya'll think. The R-rating is just a precaution for potential bad language.

If you get bored between chapters – updates will be posted about once a week – feel free to check out my other FF.net story, _"Bubblegum Crisis 2040: The Things You Don't Say." _

**At an Arm's Length -  
****A Final Fantasy VIII Story**

**Prologue**

The child was bouncing up and down like a rubber ball and showed no signs of stopping.

She groaned to herself. _What did he do, give her all the candy she could eat before I showed up? _But inwardly, she grinned. In so many ways, that is _exactly_ what he would do – especially when he knew that he had "his girl," as he still so proudly liked to call his wife of ten years, all to himself for the entire weekend. An anniversary trip. Though he didn't seem to be the romantic, she knew better, as did the child's mother: he was the biggest mush ball of them all.

"Are we all set?" he asked, poking his head in the doorway as the little girl shrieked at the sight of her daddy. He bent down on one knee to give her a hug and quick peck on the cheek. "OK, baby. You're going to be really good for Grandma Edea, right?"

"But where'ya going?" 

_Definitely her mother's daughter_, he thought to himself, before he answered, in a very patient tone of voice. "Your mommy and I are going out of town, but we'll be back on Tuesday night, and Grandma--"

"Why?" Her interruption was less of a question, and more of a challenge, but before he could open his mouth, Edea answered.

"Jordan-baby, that's why I am here, to explain 'why,'" she grinned. The look of surprise on the young father's face was absolutely unreadable. "Seifer, does Quistis _know _that she's going on this trip?"

"Weellll. . . no. It's a surprise. I did a little shopping before-hand, and I kinda figured we could go shopping when we got there – you know how she likes shopping," he floundered.

"Get going," the motherly figure ordered with a big smile.

He gave the very aware four-year-old another kiss on her cheek, and looked at Edea with an unspoken question written all over his features.

"Don't worry, child," she soothed. "She's already heard the story everyone knows about the Sorceress Wars, and it didn't frighten her. Even the part about you."

"But –"

"No 'buts,'" she continued. "She needs to hear the story that _won't _appear in the history books. To her, it will be much more important."

The corners of his mouth slowly, reluctantly twitched slightly upwards, in a faint attempt at a grin. "OK, but if she starts to get scared. . ."

"Don't you think Quistis and I have had the same discussion?" she reproached. "Go show your wife a good time."

As he headed out the door, pulling it shut after him, Edea caught his hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "Seifer, Cid and I couldn't be more proud of the both of you."

"Thank you. For everything."

He paused on the stoop for the briefest of moments as he heard the lock, followed movement just on the other side of the door and the Matron's voice.

"Jordan, I'm going to tell you a story. . ."

"Is it better than the story about Uncle Squall and Aunt Rinoa that Uncle Irvine told me?" the little girl chirped.

"Much better. . ."


	2. Chapter 1 Aftermath

Disclaimer: The very talented people at Squaresoft own these characters; I'm just borrowing them for a little bit. Buy their games, and give them your money!

Author's Notes: A HUGE "thank you" goes out to everyone who reviewed this story's Prologue. I've just finished committing its outline to paper, and your support gives me a *real* incentive to keep on going. It's going to be a long one, but we like that sort of stuff, right? (I do. . .  especially when the prologue *guarantees* a happy ending.)

I'll be updating – without fail – every Monday/Tuesday. (It seems ambitious, but I'll let you in on a not-so-secret: This week I'm posting Chapter 1, but I'm already working on Chapter 4.) You'll get your Quistis/Seifer fix. ;-)

==

**At an Arm's Length. . .**

**A Final Fantasy VIII Story**

**Chapter 1: Aftermath**

Quistis Trepe, former child prodigy and former SeeD instructor, flopped down strategically behind one of the many sand dunes on Balamb Beach. 

It was winter. Being Balamb, that meant the temperature was 75 degrees, rather than 90 degrees. At any rate, it discouraged the crowds that normally could be found along the stretch. 

She came back often, to this same place – a place that reminded her of the beach where she found herself following the escape from Time Compression. It was a good place to think. _A good place to get away_, her inner voice whispered. 

It was strange to know that there was no chance that the voice was a Guardian Force. 

She smirked to herself. For the first time in her life, she wanted to remember – as much as possible – and that meant no GFs. 

At nineteen, she felt as if her brain was scrambled. Bits and pieces of her forgotten childhood floating in and out of her consciousness. Luckily, Irvine was around, not to mention very discreet: He had no problems answering the few questions she had the courage to ask. As the only member of the "orphanage gang" who hadn't used GFs extensively, his memories of their shared childhood were a valuable resource. He also knew when to not push things. 

_The Sorceress War is over. We're all considered heroes._

She whispered to the sea, "But I don't feel very heroic."

*****

She walked through the Quad on the way to her quarters. Although she was no longer an Instructor, there were still perks to being a high-ranking SeeD officer: her room, although small, had a private bathroom. These living arrangements helped her disguise the repeated nightmares and bouts of insomnia she had been having over the last year or so.

The nightmares were so disturbing that she had taken to staying awake to the point of exhaustion, trying to stave off any form of dreaming.

"Dreams are for other people," she mused as she turned out the light and curled up beneath her comforter. Part of her chided herself. This was why she had had a difficult time escaping Time Compression. 

Quistis didn't have any dreams left, only regrets. And they weren't the regrets others expected her to have.

She had realized that her feelings for Squall were more sisterly than romantic, and she was genuinely happy that he and Rinoa had each other. There were no twinges of jealousy, once she had realized the feelings he held for the neophyte sorceress. She now knew that there were many different kinds of love. _I guess I've changed, because it doesn't matter to me now . . . like so many other things, _she thought tiredly.

The biggest part of "the other things" _had_ consisted of her teaching career. At first, she had been devastated to lose her position as an Instructor, but now, she was partially relieved to no longer have that kind of authority.

These were the two motives that had driven the life of Quistis Trepe, for as long as she could remember. "Keeping in mind that I don't remember that much," she muttered as she started to nod off. 

"Now, there's nothing."

*****

Quistis awoke with a gasp, bolting upright and looking around blindly before she remembered that her contacts were in their case and her glasses were on the bedside table. The frames now perched on her nose, she looked at the clock. 

3 a.m.

With a sigh, she reached into the nightstand's secret compartment, pulled out a small journal and started writing.

_It's always the same dream, but now I'm sure that the beginning of it is less of a dream and more of a memory._

_I'm in Time Compression. I've been wandering through it for quite some time, and I'm looking for something – anything – familiar. It's like a desert, sand blowing in all directions, and the heat is unbearable. _

_I tell myself to not give up and keep moving, but soon, I see someone in the distance. I start running toward the figure._

_The wind whips around me, and the sand is in my eyes, my hair and my mouth by the time I reach him. He is face-down on the ground. I drop to my knees to investigate. When I roll the man onto his back, I gasp. It's. . .  Seifer?!_

_I brush his bangs out of his eyes, and he makes a weak attempt to grab my hand. "Quistis," he croaks._

_"Shh. Don't talk. You don't need to. . ." I've got to calm him down. Calm me down. _

_"No. I have to . . . apology. . ."_

_"Shh."_

_His soft voice says one word, "Sorry."_

_I suddenly wish we didn't have to be in this place. I wish desperately that he and I were in a time and place where we didn't have to go through all of. . . this._

_I close my eyes and hold him close. A bright light envelopes me while simultaneously ripping him from my grasp. I cry aloud. . ._

_Disoriented, I look around. I'm now on a cliff. For some reason, I have to jump. (It's a dream. It doesn't have to make sense, right?) Well, if I don't jump, something bad is going to happen. I'm scared. I don't want to do this, but in the end, I close my eyes and step off the cliff. I fall and fall. Until I hit the ground with a thud. After a minute or so, I always wake up._

Quistis tucked the pen into the book and returned it to its hiding place with a sigh. Frustration getting the better of her, she punched the pillow before settling back in for a few more hours of shut-eye. 

"Why me?" she mumbled. "And why is SEIFER, of all people, haunting me?"

==

To be continued. . . 

Next week: Chapter 2 – The Eyes Don't Lie

==

Thanks for reading, and leave a review if you get a chance!

A totally unrelated plug: Check out my review of _Osamu Tezuka's Metropolis_ at www.absolute-0.com.  ^_^

==


	3. Chapter 2 The Eyes Don't Lie

Disclaimer: The very talented people at Squaresoft own these characters; I'm just borrowing them for a little bit. Buy their games, and give them your money!

Author's Notes: Another big thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. (Especially seyenaidni and Heavenz Little Angel for leaving second reviews.) Your support really means a lot to me.

Have any of you seen either _Neon Genesis Evangelion or __Serial Experiments: lain? I've always found their ideas of "different selves," i.e. how you see yourself vs. how other people see you, to be very interesting. I also think it is very apropos to show how the characters see one another, especially in the case of our heroine, Quistis. _

Have fun.

==

**At an Arm's Length. . .  
****A Final Fantasy VIII Story**

**Chapter 2: The Eyes Don't Lie**

It was midnight. The repetitive rocking and noise of the train had lulled his partner to sleep, but Irvine Kinneas was wide awake. It wasn't often that he saw Quistis with her guard down, and he didn't plan on squandering the chance to look at her. _Really look at her._

She was attractive – one of the prettiest girls in all of Garden. _Besides my Selphie, of course, he thought. __I wonder if anyone has ever told Quistis she is pretty. This thought was quickly followed by a soft chuckle as an interesting idea crossed his mind. __If anyone ever did, she probably wouldn't believe them._

She just looked so peaceful. She so rarely looked this way, and he wished she would let Selphie and him help her out once and a while. _But she'll never ask. _

She shifted around in the upright seat across from him, breaking his reverie. The moonbeams that seeped through the compartment's mini-blinds played upon her hair, and a chill ran up and down his spine.

This feeling of foreboding had only happened two other times in the cowboy's life: once during the most recent Sorceress War, and once during their recently completed mission in Timber.

He and Quistis had been dispatched to serve as escorts – read: bodyguards – for the newly-independent country's first president. They gathered evidence and waited for the prospective assassins to make their move. The criminals did, two nights back, but their attempt was thwarted. Quistis had blocked the sniper's attack with a blue magic shield, and Irvine had taken out the shooter. Then they saw the crime's mastermind make a run for the door.

 "Have the President's security detail surround him," Quistis barked to Irvine, before she darted off, her God Save the Queen in hand and ready to strike.

By the time he caught up to her, she had cornered her prey, her whip's barbed wire tail snapping dangerously close to the cowering fugitive's face. The 300-pounder lunged at her suddenly, but instantaneously, he was hog-tied at her feet. 

Nothing unusual for Quistis. _She's always been efficient, he grinned to himself as he walked toward her._

It was then the captive made one last try at freedom. Before Irvine had a chance to warn her about the knife now heading her way, her hair flashed from its usual blond to a multi-colored brunette and back again. 

It was over. The bad guy's knife was across the room, and his broken arm was twisted behind his back. And Quistis didn't have a scratch on her.

The sharp-shooter blinked repeatedly, trying to make sense of what he had seen.

"Q -Quistis?" he croaked.

"Yeah…" 

"How'd you do that?"

Her blue eyes met his questioningly, "That move? Have you been falling asleep in Instructor Rogers' self-defense class?"

He just stared incredulously. 

*****

_She doesn't even know that anything unusual happened, Irvine thought as he finally closed his eyes.__ If this had been the first time, I'd just think it was my eyes playing tricks on me, but now… I'm not so sure._

==

Next week: Like a Mother

==

OK, I'll fess up: In addition to an _extreme soft spot for blond, gunblade-wielding antiheroes, I also have a weakness for a certain gunslinger. (It's fun writing from his perspective.) Besides, our hero and heroine are going to need some allies, since both of them have it in their nature to be rather difficult._

Don't be shy, and be sure to let me know that people out there are reading this. ^_^

If you get bored between chapters, feel free to check out my site: www.absolute-0.com


	4. Chapter 3 Like a Mother

Disclaimer: The very talented people at Squaresoft own these characters; I'm just borrowing them for a little bit. Buy their games, and give them your money!

Author's Notes: Part of what's been published so far may seem like filler. (I know some of you out there are like, "C'mon, get to Seifer already." ^_^) Everything at this stage is fairly important and will make sense later. I promise.

A quick note to the Irvine fans: You're going to like what I've got planned for him. Even though Seifer and Quistis are the focus, he is a rather important person in this fic.

As always, I'd like to send out *another* round of thanks to everyone who is reading this so far. I'm having a blast writing it.

==

**At an Arm's Length. . .  
****A Final Fantasy VIII Story**

**Chapter 3: Like a Mother**

Edea Kramer wrung her hands worriedly as she approached her husband's desk. She knew he had a myriad of responsibilities as the headmaster of Balamb Garden, especially now that Xu had taken that position as second-in-command at the new Trabia Garden. _I hate bothering him, but –_

"Hi, darling!" he said, without looking up, thoroughly startling her.

"I'm sorry to disturb you –"

Cid finally glanced over the top of his reading glasses with a grin, "You are _never a disturbance. What's up?"_

Taking a deep breath, she briefly wondered where, exactly, to begin and sat down quickly. "Something's been bothering me. . . about Quistis."

"Well, you know we gave her the chance to be reinstated as an instructor, and she refused."

A slow smile spread across her face. _Forever the administrator. "This really has nothing to do with Garden, dear. I'm just playing Mom, and I'd like your opinion."_

"So you can interfere the way a biological mother would?" he countered with a wink.

"Something like that."

"O.K., I'll listen."

_What a flirt, and after so many years of marriage. "Thank you," she answered evenly. "You see, Selphie was finally organizing the Festival Committee's Birthday Calendar, and she realized that Quistis' birthday was two weeks ago."_

Cid looked at her, confusion showing on his face. "And…?"

"Well, she had requested to be on duty, and she left for her last mission in Timber two days before it. WE didn't remember her birthday, and it's like she's gone out of her way to avoid letting any of us –"

"Edea, don't you think maybe you're jumping to conclusions. . ."

"Well. . . that was my first thought, too," she admitted. "I mean, after all, we are talking about _Selphie bringing this to my attention. But then I had her do a little digging, and Quistis __has been doing the same thing around holidays and celebrations of this sort."_

"When did this pattern start?"

"Just after the Sorceress War."

This response caused him to furrow his brow. "Oh dear." He slowly removed his glasses. Ever since Ultimecia was purged from her system, she had been worried about this. She would wake up in the middle of the night from the guilt. . . 

"Edea," he started, hesitantly. "You know that Quistis has always been shy. . . and a bit of a loner, plus the fact that she had to distance herself from the kids her age because of her teaching position, well. . . it didn't _help things," his voice trailed off._

By this point, his wife's eyes were almost brimming over with tears. _She's not buying it._

"Cid," a small voice spoke. "How much do you think she remembers?"

"About her mother, about the orphanage, or about her foster family?" he asked, moving to join her on the other side of his desk.

"All of it," she replied sadly, rising to meet his welcoming arms.

He tightened his embrace. _We must proceed with caution. "I think a phone call to Ellone may be in order."_

*****

Two hours and a phone call to Esthar later, Cid sighed deeply.

Ellone, using her special talents, _had been able to confirm that the War did indeed alter the future – and not in a positive way – for some of the parties involved. The news was unwelcome, but there was still a missing piece to the puzzle._

The self-proclaimed big "Sis" had been surprised to discover that a.) she could not figure out how much Quistis actually remembered about her life, pre-Garden, and b.) she could not pinpoint exactly what caused the memory loss.

"Something's blocking Ellone's reading," his wife's voice said from the corner, causing him to start.

He had forgotten, for a moment, she was still in the room. "Did she have any bad experiences at the orphanage?" 

"No," Edea answered thoughtfully. "But she will remember. . ."

"Seifer," both said together.

"We don't know too many details about her time in foster care, and. . .  We don't want to cross that other bridge before we _have to. . ." he said, only to be met by a sigh of Edea's own. "I'll put out word – __discreetly – that we are looking for Seifer. In the meantime, I think you and Quistis have some Matron-daughter bonding to do."_

"Thanks. . . you leave _me with the difficult job," she said with a weak smile. "Now I've got to figure out a plausible reason to take her on a field trip to the orphanage."_

==

Next week: Plotting and Scheming

==

Sounds like Edea has quite a task on her hands, eh?

Thanks for stopping by. ^_^

If you get bored between chapters, feel free to check out my site: http://www.absolute-0.com

Do you think I should add a secret fanfic section for ya'll? (It would be on the site but accessible only to those in the know. I'd like some opinions.)


	5. Chapter 4 Plotting and Scheming

Disclaimer: The very talented people at Squaresoft own these characters; I'm just borrowing them for a little bit. Buy their games, and give them your money!

Author's Notes: I love getting into these characters' heads. Edea and Cid are fun to write. ^_^

A quick note to "sabacat": I know a lot of questions are starting to pile up… it's going somewhere (good). At least the way I've got it planned, you'll never have to wait longer than a week. (Thanks for the second review!) 

And to everyone: thanks for all of your support! 

==

**At an Arm's Length. . .  
****A Final Fantasy VIII Story**

**Chapter 4: Plotting and Scheming**

Edea grinned to herself as she walked to the quarters she and Cid shared. _Selphie is a fount of information – and a sneak to boot – especially when she is doing something in the name of helping a friend._

Some things never changed. An individual's basic character stayed constant. Edea believed this; specifically, she believed this about her children. In so many ways, they proved the truth of her hypothesis. Especially, the two who were closest to her. _But then again. . . __Irvine__ actually remembers those days._

Although Selphie was now grown up – and at times still acted like a ten year old who had inhaled too many Pixy Sticks – she was and always had been intuitive about sensing when things were "off" with people she considered friends. And once she discovered something she could do to help them. . . watch out. 

Shy as a child, Irvine had always stayed just outside of Selphie's perpetual whirlwind ready to catch her when she crashed – quiet and true. Now the frivolity of the self-proclaimed ladies' man was betrayed by the way he sometimes looked at his "best friend" and the fact he was a frequent coconspirator in her plots. 

_It's as if they have grown even more into themselves, she thought as she unlocked the door and stepped into her living room. She paused to rearrange some pillows before she sat down and leaned back into the loveseat. __Her children._

Brave little Quistis who tried so hard to not be a bother, who tried to be all things to all people. . . except with the one person who consistently saw through her façade. And then, mostly because he wouldn't let her get away with it.

_Seifer. He was the main reason Edea clung so fervently to her belief. He hadn't gotten along with most of the other children in the orphanage. In fact, he got along with exactly two people – Irvine (__but everyone got along with __Irvine) and Quistis._

Somewhere along the way, he named himself her protector – not that she needed it – and became her chief confidant and closest friend. He was so concerned about his standing with her that he went out of his way to protect her friends from the bigger kids. That, of course, didn't stop him from tormenting Squall and making Zell cry, but she partially suspected Seifer did that because he knew Quistis would break up the conflict. 

She rubbed her eyes tiredly._ Anyone who could care so much about someone else has good in them._

He started acting out more after Quistis had been adopted.

"What a mistake. . ." she unconsciously said aloud.

The room's overhead light flipped on. "What's a mistake?" asked Cid.

Edea shifted slightly to make room for him, as he sat beside her. "Letting those people adopt Quistis." 

Cid grasped his wife's hand. "Listen. We can't play this game. You don't have the ability to change the past, or the ability to see the future. Even if you did, it wouldn't be smart to start tinkering with those things."

"I know."

"I know you know," he said, giving her hand a squeeze. "But that's why Ellone doesn't give us specifics with her readings. Things have to happen the way they happen. And _I_ know that means that we'll do what we have to do – not knowing the future – because that is the way it was supposed to happen all along."

The former sorceress, still beautiful after so many years, turned suddenly and kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you."

"What was that for?"  
  


"For staying true to me and to yourself," she replied softly.

*****

After the dishes were cleared from dinner, Cid and Edea retired back to the living room and curled up on the couch together.

"You're plotting and scheming," he whispered teasingly into the crook of her neck.

She chuckled softly, "But it's for the greater good."

At this he shifted her around to face him. "So what's the plan?"

"Quistis and Irvine checked in from new Galbadia Garden earlier today, so they'll be back here by Friday. Selphie really wanted to do something, so I talked her down from the huge blowout she was already planning in her mind to a girls-only 'shopping and lunch out' day on Saturday."

"How'd you do that?" he asked, with a hint of incredulity in his voice.

"She asked for my opinion, and I told her that Quistis may have been trying to avoid all that," she answered. "Don't look so surprised! Selphie can be _very considerate when she stops to think."_

"There has to be something else to this story. . ."

"Well, there _is, but you'll approve." Pausing for effect, she continued, "This spring, during their annual leave, I'm taking Quistis, Selphie and Irvine to the orphanage. Selphie is helping with the arrangements because, right now, it is top secret."_

He burst out laughing, "I knew it. . . you're going to put her to work."

"She loves this stuff – especially the 'you can't tell anyone especially Quistis and Irvine' part," she giggled. "You know she'll cave in and tell Irvine, but he can keep a secret. Anyway, we'll stop for one night in Esthar, pick up Ellone, stay at the orphanage for two days and spend another two days with her in Esthar on the way back." 

"What about Squall'n'Rinoa and Zell?"

"I think they'd really be a distraction, in this case. I'll take them another time, but this time, they're_ your department," she said with finality._

Cid pulled her up and into his arms, leading her to their bedroom. "I think we have a plan, then."

Smiling softly at his impetuousness, she whispered, half to herself, "Now we have a plan."

==

Next week: The Girls' Day Out

==

Aww. What a nice little married couple. Things should be nice for them post-game. After all, Cid is *Edea's* knight.

Thanks for stopping by. ^_^ Please don't be shy about leaving a review. (Keep me on my toes by letting me know that people are continuing to read this.) See ya next Tuesday.

If you get bored between chapters, feel free to check out my site: http://www.absolute-0.com


	6. Chapter 5 The Girls' Day Out

Disclaimer: The very talented people at Squaresoft own these characters; I'm just borrowing them for a little bit. Buy their games, and give them your money!

Author's Notes: A huge thanks to everyone for the reviews. Like I said before, each chapter has something important that advances the plot along. This story – fortunately and unfortunately – takes place over a pretty good amount of time because I don't feel that people change overnight. Some of our favorite characters have a lot of growing up to do.

Enjoy!

==

**At an Arm's Length. . .  
A Final Fantasy VIII Story**

**Chapter 5: The Girls' Day Out**

Quistis Trepe was not a morning person. She never had been. And being up before noon on a Saturday morning was not her idea of fun.

_Something's up, she thought to herself as she continued to pace back and forth at the Training Center's entrance. __First, Matron insists that I take tea with her and now Selphie, who – I might add, ISN'T HERE YET – insists I meet her at this –_

"GOOD MORNING!" Selphie shouted from the end of the hallway, breaking Quistis' train of thought.

As the bouncy brunette came closer, Quistis saw the keys to Ragnarok dangling from her fingers and jingling in a rhythm that matched the cadence of her step.

The blonde was giggling to herself by the time Selphie landed in front of her.

"WHAT are you laughing at?" the petite girl demanded upon reaching her friend.

"I'm not laughing _at anything, I'm laughing __with you. You have that effect on people, Selphie."_

"Oh," she replied with slight look of relief as they started walking. "I was a little worried that you might be tired out from the trip, but I didn't want to go on my little excursion alone."

"Where are we going then?"

At this question, Selphie blocked Quistis' path. In a conspiratorial fashion, she whispered, "It's top secret," and then began to skip cheerfully down the hallway.

Quistis paused to shake her head with a grin, "I'll bet she had a Pop-Tart for breakfast again," and hurried to catch up.

*****

Selphie parked the Ragnarok in a field just outside Deling City and proceeded to drag Quistis on a hyperactive tour through the metropolis' nicer shopping districts.

Upon proclaiming the sixth or seventh store "HOPELESS, absolutely HOPELESS," the former messenger girl flopped down on a bench with a scowl plainly visible on her face.

Quistis walked up to her slowly and looked down at her with mock-seriousness. "Are you _ever going to tell me just what it is –"_

"OOH! Over there!" 

_And she's off, Quistis thought as she started toward the girl, who was now standing – and tapping her foot impatiently – in the doorway of really classy boutique._

When they entered the shop, Quistis again found herself deserted as Selphie bounded down the aisle and discussed something excitedly with the saleswoman. Her friend and the stranger whisked her into a rather large fitting room, seated her and then dashed off only to return, approximately 30 seconds later, with a pile of clothes.

"Selphie, what –" 

"You're trying these on. NOW. And you have to come out and show us."

"Oookay?" 

The door slammed shut.

Then opened. "Try this one first." And slammed again.

Quistis looked at the piles of clothing, thoughtfully arranged into outfits, and down at the two hangers in her hand. She spoke to herself softly, "Selphie, I don't know what you are up to, but –"

"Less talking and more trying on," cried a sing-song voice on the other side of the door.

_I have no other choice, the baffled woman thought, as she slipped out of her jeans, fitted-T and blazer ensemble and into the casual outfit that had been picked out for her. She had just finished zipping the requisite zippers when a voice outside chirped, "That's it. I'm coming in."_

The dressing room door flew open to reveal Selphie and the saleslady, both with extremely pleased looks on their faces.

"Quistis! It's perfect! You have to turn and look in the mirror NOW."

With no choice but to obey the orders being issued to her, she turned around to meet her own gaze in the cubicle's full-length mirror.

It wasn't something she would have picked out on her own, but she liked it. The fitted, but not too-fitted, indigo, stretch denim outfit consisted of a sleeveless shell and an A-line skirt that ended about two inches above her knee.

"This is the one! Get dressed and toss me those when you get them off."

"Selphie, what –"

"All will be revealed shortly," her shopping buddy interrupted, closing the door. "Now toss me that outfit."

Quistis emerged in her street clothes moments later to find Selphie ready to go and now toting a shopping bag.

"Selphie," she started with a faint note of disapproval creeping into her voice. "You didn't –"

"Quistis. Your birthday was two weeks ago. Let one of your two closest friends _please celebrate with you and give you something nice that you would __never buy for yourself," she paused for air. "Hap-py birthday from Irvine and me."_

The taller girl smiled, softly, and took gingerly accepted the bag from the shorter girl's outstretched hand. "Thank you."

"See, now that wasn't so hard." Selphie said with a glint of mirth in her eyes. "Let's plan what shoes you can wear with it. The black cardigan I just returned to you will go with it nicely when it starts to cool off 'round here."

*****

The two girls had chatted their way through at least two shoe stores before they landed at the outdoor café with the new outfit and a pair of recently-acquired red alligator penny loafers. Once they gave the waiter their orders – a soft drink and sweet ice tea, please – Selphie peeked over the menu at her friend. Quistis looked happy. _She should look like this more often. _

"Selphie," Quistis interrupted. "Thanks. I've had fun today."

"Me, too," she replied with a smile that lit up her face. "You know, we should do this more often. We could even include Irvy once and a while. As long as he doesn't complain about having to carry our bags, of course."

Quistis could barely stifle a giggle at the thought, "I'd like that."

"COOL! And Q… I'm sorry we forgot your birthday."

"No, don't apologize," she countered emphatically. "To tell you the truth… I didn't really feel like celebrating it this year, so I didn't tell anyone."

At this, Selphie nearly choked on the sip she had been taking of her iced tea. "Why?"

"You know… I _don't __know."_

Their eyes met briefly, before Quistis quickly shifted her gaze to the carbonated bubbles of her drink. She looked up to find Selphie's closed hand and crooked pinkie just an inch away from her face.

She smiled faintly, "You know, one of these days you're going to poke someone's eye out."

"Quistis," Selphie said slowly and solemnly, "promise me that when you _do know why, you'll talk to me or Irvine about it."_

Instead of a verbal response, Quistis linked her right-hand pinkie with her friend's and smiled, again, sadly.

It was the answer for which Selphie had hoped, sealed with the gesture that two little girls had held sacred so long ago.

==

Next week: Long December

==

The next chapter's title gives you a REALLY big hint about its content. (Let the speculation begin.)

Thanks for stopping by, and if you get a chance, let me know ya'll are still out there!  ^_^

Between chapters, feel free to check out my site: http://www.absolute-0.com !


	7. Chapter 6 Long December

Disclaimer: The very talented people at Squaresoft own these characters; I'm just borrowing them for a little bit. Buy their games, and give them your money!

==

**At an Arm's Length. . .  
****A Final Fantasy VIII Story**

**Chapter 6: Long December**

Blue-green eyes stared off into the distance, mesmerized by the cool afternoon's dying rays of light. 

The water had always calmed his nerves, so in some ways Seifer wasn't surprised that he found himself on the small pier just outside Fisherman's Horizon. After all, it was just steps away from Rai and Fu's house and his shack on their property.

_So, okay, it is better than a shack. _

He had built it for himself, when he realized that his two friends were starting to become more than friends. He grinned to himself… that was nearly a year ago. 

So many things had happened since Ultimecia's defeat. Since Fu and Rai found him on the beach, dazed, confused and lacking any memories past his infamous breakout from detention. 

At first, he didn't remember what had happened, but everyone else did. He thanked heaven on a daily basis that his "Posse" had been the first to find him and take him in. 

Fu later told him she had been worried that he might never get back to his "old self," until the day they were on this very same pier. She kicked Rai in the shin, causing him to fall into the water. Seifer burst out laughing. . .until he saw B-Garden pass overhead. Then his laughter was replaced with a look of sadness that she couldn't place. _I started to remember._

Barely perceptible footsteps crept up behind him, and a gentle hand tapped him on his left shoulder. "Seifer?"

"Fujin?" he swung around to look at his guest in disbelief. _She and Raijin weren't supposed to be back from their honeymoon until –_

"STUPID SEIFER!" she grinned broadly at him and continued, at a considerably lower volume, "Ya know, we wouldn't forget your birthday."

"You've been hangin' around with Raijin too much," he grumbled affectionately as he gave her a bear hug.

Seifer smirked. _5-4-3-2-1 –_

"HEY! Hands off my bride, ya' know." _Five steps behind, like clockwork._

The two men shook hands, and carried on as if they hadn't seen each other in a year instead of only a month.

Fujin just looked at them in amusement. _For as much as they make fun of women, they sure like to gossip. _

She cleared her throat to get their attention, and two pairs of eyes quickly met hers. She responded by handing Seifer a small, gift-wrapped package. "HAPPY BIRTHDAY."

"You didn't have to –"

"We _wanted to, ya know?" Raijin continued, "You were our best man, and you'll __always be a member of our family."_

"Thank you," Seifer responded softly, and that sad look that Fujin so feared crossed his face for just a second. "So, can I open this up, or what?"

She nodded. "AFFIRMATIVE." But as usual, he hadn't _really waited for her answer, and most of the paper was already ripped from the box._

The lid was discarded to reveal a leather-bound book, with a pen holder attached to its interior and a title page written in Fujin's neat script. _The Journal of Seifer Almasy._

He blinked, not knowing exactly what he was supposed to do with this present. "Thank you," he said, again.

"RAI. HOUSE. DINNER."

"See ya later, ya know!"

"O.K.," the blond replied, partially to himself.

"You're supposed to write in this," a soft voice answered his unspoken question. He looked up to meet her gaze, and unhappily found her reddish eye, sans eye patch, glazing over with the beginnings of tears.

"Fu, I love it, honest."

"NO. That's not it. It was that look – after _my husband mentioned the word "FAMILY.'"_

He gently pushed the small hand that had been on his arm away and returned to his original location, moving to sit with his legs dangling over the dock's edge.

_You're not getting rid of me that easily, she thought as she joined him. "It was the same look that you got that day when we saw Garden and the same look you get when you remember something from when you were –"_

"I don't want to talk about it," a low voice growled, softly.

"That's why I thought you could use this," she resumed, patting the cover of the volume still resting in his hands. "I know some day, you're going to leave us. We convinced you to stay and not turn yourself in until you remembered." She took a deep breath. "And now I'm asking you to stay for at least a little while longer, but I've – _we've – __always known that someday you __would go… It's in your eyes."_

She glanced down at her wedding and engagement rings. Just as a solitary tear escaped her exposed eye, a masculine hand gently grasped her right hand.

"I'm sorry. The last thing I want to do is make you cry." _I'm tired of making people cry._

"I know," she whispered, as she moved to stand up.

"I've never kept a journal before," he started, his voice returning to its normal, teasing tone. "How am I supposed to do this?"

"Write a letter to someone, as if they are in front of you and you're talking to them."

"But who –?"

She stopped him mid-sentence by grasping his shoulder and leaning in to meet his ear. "THINK!"

"Hey!" he mock-whined. "You don't have to yell in my ear like that!"

Seifer shifted in a futile attempt to catch her, but Fujin was already skipping up the path back to her home. 

As he watched the last of the sun's rays disappear into the sea, and he found himself caressing the book's leather cover.

"Quistis."

*****

The rest of the evening had been relatively normal. _Well, as normal as it ever gets with our newly-married couple around. _

He had retrieved their mail from his place and was on his way to deliver it when he heard Fujin shriek, "NO! SEIFER'S CAKE!" This was followed by noises that sounded like a smack-down, Raijin's protests and then _other noises. _

He had to grin at the concept of his two friends getting it on – _one of these days, someone's really going to get hurt – and then banished any images that might scar him for life from his thoughts._

_At least, I haven't caused *irreparable* damage to their lives._

The idea was a sobering one: things were bad, but they could have gone _even more wrong._

_Not that I helped things along, any. He locked the door, turned on the radio and a lamp, and grabbed an instant dinner from his stash. A minute later, the boiling water had been added to the Cup'o'Grub – __it tastes about as good as it sounds – and he was seated at his small table. Their gift sat across from him. Taunting him. _

He finished up and tossed the remains of his so-called dinner into the garbage and the fork into the kitchenette's sink.

It was still there on the table.

He seated himself and picked it up, looking at it from all angles. Finally, he opened the journal and, after taking a deep breath, pulled the pen from its holder, turned to the first blank page, and began to write.

_December 22, XXXX_

_Dear Instructor Trepe,_

_Today is my 20th birthday, and I received this journal as a gift from The Posse. I've never kept one before. Fujin said I should write as if I was actually writing *to* someone. So, I'm writing to you…_

==

Next week: The Garden Festival Committee & The Anti-Valentine's Day Bash 

==

Author's Notes: A huge thanks to everyone out there still reading this and especially to Faltering Hues and Heavenz Little Angel (multiple times ^_^) for the reviews last week. Your encouragement is what keeps this story clicking along. Ya'll are awesome.

A plug for my web site: Between chapters, feel free to check out: http://www.absolute-0.com !


	8. Chapter 7 The Garden Festival Committee

**At an Arm's Length. . .****  
A Final Fantasy VIII Story**

**Chapter 7: The Garden Festival Committee & The Anti-Valentine's Day Bash**

Irvine sat patiently on the third bench to the left of the classroom's door. Waiting. Casually. Just like he had every day since Selphie came back from her last mission and she started that refresher course in code breaking. 

She was running late. This was a usual occurrence for the head of the Garden Festival Committee. He straightened his legs out in front of him, leaning his head back and tipping the brim of his beloved cowboy hat so it covered his eyes. _All the__ better to think about the two ladies most dear to my heart._

_That sounds like one of my, admittedly corny, country songs, he smiled to himself. However amusing he found that thought, it didn't change the fact he was totally screwed. _

Valentine's Day was coming up, and the self-proclaimed "lady killer" of Balamb Garden had finally met his match – in the form of a pixie that just happened to be as flighty as the butterflies he used to capture gently and release as a child. Selphie Tilmitt. _Now if only that infatuated idiot, the one she also happens to like, would just..._

A shadow fell over him, briefly, before a body emphatically threw itself onto the bench beside him. _I hope her ears are burning._

"IRRVVY!" 

He could visualize the pout before he had even opened his eyes. His normally sunny Selphie was having an overcast day. "What's up, darlin'?" he asked, moving to sit up. _I *already know* I'm not going to like this answer._

"I didn't plan a Valentine's Day dance like I wanted to because I figured that Chase. . ."

_Chase, what a wimp name._

". . . ask me out, but he didn't. He asked. . ."

_Bastard.__ Making my Selphie sad. Wait – that's good for me! But I can't ask her out now. . . Valentine's Day. . . the pressure. Oh, God. I suck._

"So I'm stuck with nothing to do, and it's my favorite holiday, but now I'm thinking I should drag Quistis out, because she shouldn't be alone on a day like that – at least not to be stalked by the Trepies. I mean, what good is a fan club, if they get all _creepy like that?"_

At this point, Irvine felt the need to interrupt. "Stop. Breathe."

"Oh. . . yeah. Sorry 'bout that," she grinned sheepishly. "I forget sometimes."

"Yeah. You do, but that's all right." He could barely stifle his grin.

_Y'know, __Irvine__'s really cute when he smiles and his eyes crinkle up in the corners like that. . ._

"Earth to Selphie!"

"Oh, yeah. Sorry. Again."

"So it sounded like you had a plan?" he started for her.

"Right! Since you and Quistis and I are basically the only people on the Festival Committee who actually _do anything, why don't __we plan to hang out or something?"_

_Or something. Irvine looked at her suspiciously, "What makes you think that __I don't have plans that night?"_

She giggled nervously, "Well, Irvine, news travels fast and. . . I hadn't heard any about you?"

"Good save."

"Thank you! So whadaya say?"

"I'm in."

"Whoohoo!" she simultaneously yelped and sprung from her seat. "Now we've got to go tell Q about our _fabulous Anti-Valentine's Day Bash!"_

Before Selphie had moved three steps, a calm voice caused her to pause mid-bounce. "Tell Quistis about what?"

"QUISTIS! Irvine'll fill you in," the petite girl replied, as she continued to bound through the Quad.

The blonde sat down next to a dumbfounded Irvine and inwardly grinned as he looked in awe at the yellow streak dodging bodies in a race to the next destination.

"So Cowboy, did you get thrown again?" 

"What gave it away?" he grumbled, causing the corners of Quistis' mouth to twitch into a wry smile.

"Nothing that most people would see, I'm just talented that way," she sighed. "So why_ didn't you ask her out for Valentine's Day?"_

". . ."

"Chicken."

"Hey! Don't compare me to Zell!" Irvine sputtered.

She eyed him suspiciously, and he looked back at her wide-eyed. There was only one person who called Zell a "chicken" – or more accurately a "Chicken-wuss," but since Irvine had attended Galbadia Garden, there was no way he could know that unless...

"Quistis?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry I got all defensive, it's just that. . . I don't want to screw things up. I mean. . ."

"Selphie's that important," she finished for him.

His reddened face was the only answer Quistis needed.

"Irvine, if you ever need any help with anything. . . let me know, o.k.?"

His temporary embarrassment was now replaced by his usual, affectionate grin. "You've always been on my side."

"Really?" she asked lightly as they got up to go their separate ways.

"Yeah," Irvine said, as he turned himself and placed one hand on each of the former instructor's shoulders. "Just don't forget that there are people on your side, too." He gave her a quick peck on the cheek and burst out laughing as he made his getaway, "Y'know, thanks to you and the butterfly, I'm going to be the envy of the Garden's entire male population!"

*****

_It really is backwards, Irvine thought as he entered Balamb's finest flower shop. __Buying Selphie's present should be the stressful part of this whole exercise. After all, she totally wrecks me._

But in actuality, finding something for his most reliable confidant was turning out to be the real trick. He knew that she had major gaps in her memory from their time at the orphanage, and he truly believed that when it was time to remember, she would. Without his help. Unfortunately, every so often, like the other day in the quad, he slipped. 

_Maybe it's better that she doesn't remember him and what he was to her then. I mean, I don't know what went down between the two of them – only what I saw during our battle – but. . ._

There was always a "but." In his heart, he just couldn't believe that it was better this way. _It seems so wrong. _

He had gone 'round and 'round about a gift for Quistis, but he kept coming back to the same thing: at the orphanage she had always loved flowers – not just any flowers, though, three kinds in particular.

_The other two will always be his, Irvine mused silently, picking over the delicate, potted plants to find the most vibrant cluster of the lot. __But the violets belong to all of us._

*****

There were occasional times when Quistis' generally distrustful nature was anything but an asset. This was one such time.

"Matron agreed to help me way too easily," she muttered to herself, slightly stumbling on a loose brick in the corridor. "Darn! I'm going to be late."

It was Valentine's Day and the night of Selphie's "Anti-Valentine's Day Bash." Since Quistis had a habit of bailing on other, similar occasions, her "sis" had insisted that Irvine bring her to the restaurant where they planned to kick-off their celebration.

_That's what they *think* is going to happen, she smirked to herself. __And that's where Matron comes in._

"What are you grinning about, Quis?"

She started, and found herself eye to eye with Irvine. "Oh, nothing," she replied with as much innocence as she could muster.

"Hmhm. I'll bet." He offered her his arm, "Shall we?"

A smile and a nod, and they made their way to Garden's entry gate. Just as they were passing through the checkpoint, Quistis' cell phone rang loudly.

"Oh, hello, Headmaster. . .can't it wait until morning?"

The blue eyes of her pony-tailed dinner companion narrowed suspiciously.

"Oh," she continued with feigned disappointment. "I see. . .yes. All right, I'll report to your office ASAP."

Clicking her phone off, she turned to face a none-too-amused Irvine. "I'm going to need a rain check from the two of you. Duty calls."

A large hand gently grabbed her forearm. "You're not off the hook, yet," he said solemnly.

"O.K.," she half-sighed, and leaned in to give him a peck on the cheek before moving in to whisper in his ear. "Happy Valentine's Day. Go get her."

His eyes widened and a slow grin overtook his features. _She had this planned all along. "Sir?"_

The guard nodded.

"Could you see that Miss Trepe gets in O.K.? Y'know, no Trepie-stalkers?"

The older man smirked. "No Trepie-stalkers."

"Happy Valentine's Day, Quistis."

*****

It was a little after 7 p.m. by the time Quistis returned to her quarters. 

Edea and Cid had been thrilled to hear that their part in her charade went off without a hitch, and her designated Trepie-repeller, well. . . he had been pleased to earn bragging rights among his colleagues for escorting Garden's famous prodigy on her errands.

_It's nice to have a break from everyone. She stretched and leaned against the inside of her closed door for a moment before moving across the room to drop her keys on the crowded desktop._

Her desk was always slightly cluttered, but there was more clutter than usual tonight. She flicked on the lamp by her bedside, and its dim light revealed a potted violet. 

She thoughtfully traced its soft, royal purple petals with her fingertips before noticing the envelope that served as a mat for the unexpected gift.

The handwriting gave away who had left it. _Irvine__.__ . .we weren't supposed to give gifts._

A slight grin passed over her face as read the card.

_Q – If you're reading this before 11 p.m., you've been up to your usual tricks. Even so, you're one of my best friends, past and present._

_I know you don't remember much from our time at the orphanage, but the violets were one of our particular favorites. There's one more thing: in the envelope, you'll find a CD with one of my favorites. You keep to yourself a lot, Quis, but when you play this song, please know that you're never truly alone._

_Happy Valentine's Day. . .  
__Irvine__ (and Selphie, too, if she knew about this.)_

She picked the disc up gently, examining it before placing it safely in the CD player and pressing "play."

The arrangement was beautiful, not entirely different from his normal country and blues.

_"All alone at the end of the evening/ when the bright lights have faded away. . ."_

She moved to the window to look at the almost starless sky. She could understand why Irvine liked this song.

_". . . Y'know I've always been a dreamer. . . but the dreams I've seen lately, keep on turnin' out and burnin' out and turnin' out the same. . ."_

A strange, overwhelming feeling rose from inside of Quistis. 

_"If it all fell to pieces tomorrow/ would you still be mine?"_

Unconsciously, she gripped the window sill as she continued to listen to the song and watch the moonlight play upon the large body of water in the distance.

_"Put me on a highway and show me a sign. . ."_

Breathlessly, one word inexplicably came to her lips, "Seifer."

_"Take it to the limit/ one more time."_

*****

The green numbers on Quistis' alarm clock silently marked the time as 1:00 a.m., but the figure tossing and turning in the bed was anything but peaceful.

She thrashed around for a few more minutes before the observant being seated in the chair by the window moved to her bedside and placed its hand on her forehead.

"My child," it whispered. "You've earned some peace, if only for tonight."

A bright blue light illuminated the room for an instant and was just as quickly gone, leaving behind a young woman with pleasant dreams of a childhood long-forgotten. . . of the sun, the seashore and a playmate with blue-green eyes.

==  
Next week: The Ugly Truth  
==

Author's Notes: First off, a continuation of the disclaimer – the song lyrics are borrowed from the classic Eagles' song _"Take It to the Limit."  (Written by Randy Meisner, Don Henley and Glen Frey.) Go out and listen to it for the full effect.  Doesn't it seem like the kind of song Irvine might apply to this situation?_

A gargantuan thanks to everyone reading this and _especially to the kind souls who took the time to review the last chapter.  Special thanks go out to sabacat and seyenaidni… this is the longest fictional endeavor that I've ever attempted and knowing that people are truly following this keeps me on task! _

(An additional thanks goes out to Quistis 88 and Starwhisperer because I'm not all that patient when I'm waiting for other people's fics to be updated either! ^_^)

See you next week, same Bat Time, same Bat Channel. . .

The obligatory plug for my web site: feel free to check out http://www.absolute-0.com between chapters.


	9. Chapter 8 The Ugly Truth

Disclaimer: The very talented people at Squaresoft own these characters; I'm just borrowing them for a little bit. Buy their games, and give them your money!

==

**At an Arm's Length. . .  
A Final Fantasy VIII Story**

**Chapter 8: The Ugly Truth**

_When I first agreed to this trip, it wasn't supposed to be a big deal. That's what Selphie said. "Oh, Quistis, why don't a gang of us" – translation: You, me and Irvine – "all spend part of our spring leave at the beach?" _

_That sounds simple enough, doesn't it? Clue number one: Selphie's involved. _

_And with Selphie involved, no gathering or outing is simple. Now it's this big thing. With Edea and picking up Ellone in Esthar and the orphanage. Well, I guess it *is* the beach._

_I don't want to go back. I'm not ready to go back there. I –_

"Quistis?"

_I want to be alone._

"QUISTIS?! Have you even _started to pack – Omigod!" Selphie yelped as she tapped the room's door to reveal the blonde standing defeated in front of her open closet. _

What greeted Selphie was a most unexpected sight: clothing. Lots of clothing. Everywhere. Very much NOT what she expected the closet of one Quistis Trepe to look like.

She burst into a small giggle, which soon became a belly laugh.

Quistis turned to her slowly – in shock – as if she were an alien. _What's so funny? _

Tears were now streaming down the younger girl's face, "Quistis Trepe: Child prodigy. Ace SeeD. Awesome friend. Uber-clothes horse!"

As she broke into another fit of giggles, Quistis finally betrayed herself with a small smile. In a small, prim voice she replied, "I still don't see what is so funny about my closet…" But then Selphie caught her gaze, and Quistis caught a more restrained version of her friend's affliction. "Well, I probably don't need to buy anything for our trip."

"I'll say!" Selphie caught her forearm and started to drag her out to the hallway. "Let's go grab dinner, and _then we'll tackle Le Boutique de Trepe!"_

****

After dinner in the cafeteria, Selphie and Quistis came back to pack, or more accurately, Quistis packed while Selphie proceeded to thoroughly reorganize the entire closet.

Quistis stared at the newly neat space, categorized by clothing type and color. Her peach battle suit. _Yuck. _

"So what do you think of my handiwork?" a bright voice asked.

She turned to face the green-eyed dynamo and tried to muster some enthusiasm. "It's fabulous, Selph. Listen, I'm a little wiped…" she smiled, tiredly.

"Say no more. Seeya first thing tomorrow morning."

She nodded, "Tomorrow morning."

The door shut, and all traces of the forced, happy demeanor immediately disappeared from her face as she looked, again, at the closet's double doors. One side was open, but the mirrored side was closed. She walked slowly toward the mirror, examining her reflection.

Cool. Calm. Collected. Put-together. Quistis Trepe. 

She glared at herself. "I hate you."

She moved to the open closet door, pulled out a cleanly pressed shirt, and, after pausing to regard it, tossed it – hanger and all – to the floor. She reached for another one. And another one. 

"Why do I have so much stuff?" She threw another article of clothing onto the growing pile in the center of her room. _Because around 15, you decided that something is better than nothing. And threw another skirt. __Because you thought that if the outside was perfect, you could fake it until the inside became perfect, too. _

And another jacket. And another pair of boots. Another pair of jeans. Another. Another.

"But nobody wants perfect."

She looked at the now empty closet – _empty – and walked across the room to her dresser. With a vacant look on her face and one swipe of her hand, everything was on the floor with a crash._

Glass crunching beneath her boots, she walked to the side of the dresser closest to her bed and bent to pick up her hand mirror, which had been thrown to the floor. It was now cracked, and a fractured version of her reflection stared back at her as she carried it, gingerly with both hands, to the center of the room and flopped down onto the massive pile of accumulated clothing and hangers.

"No one's perfect," she reproached her reflection in the mirror. "I may have fooled some people into thinking I'm close, but that's not the truth."

A choking sensation filled her chest as she leaned back to lie in the mess of her own creation. She hadn't felt this way since Squall told her to talk to a wall. Since Seifer. . .

_The truth is that I failed you. YOU. . . Why do I still think about you? Why? Why? WHY?! Wasn't that always one of my favorite words? Why?_

She again raised the looking glass to face herself. _You're pathetic and weak. That's why. You've become everything he always said you would be. Mediocre. An ice princess._

"That's why," she answered aloud in a dispassionate voice that belied the intense frustration she felt toward her situation and toward herself for getting to this place. The small mirror hit the floor with a satisfying crash, and tormented blue eyes stared at the ceiling as tears trailed unnoticed down Quistis Trepe's face.

"So what are you going to do about it?" 

*****

The next morning she awoke with a start to the loud noise of her alarm going off. Quistis sat up, slightly disoriented. Then she remembered her previous night's activities and fairly bolted out of bed. 

She put on her glasses to survey the damage and looked about the room in wonder.

It was clean, as if she had never thrown her little – _o.k., not so little – pity party/temper tantrum last night._

_Did I clean up before I went to bed? Wait. I don't remember actually going to bed. _

Walking over to the closet, she stepped over her suitcases, still neatly packed for her trip. She paused slightly as her hand touched the doorknob and opened the storage space to reveal…

… her clothes, just as Selphie had left them. Organized, by type and color. _That damn peach battle suit is still here._

She shut the door. _Maybe I just imagined it. Her eyes drifted over to her desk – __o.k. – and finally to her dresser._

Suspiciously, she moved closer. Everything was in its designated spot, but something was off, and then she saw it – the mirror. Its smooth face was cracked.

She stared at it wide-eyed. _It happened. It happened, and someone cleaned it up._

A faraway noise – the phone – jolted Quistis from her thoughts, and she moved to her desk where she caught it on the third ring.

"H- hello?"

==  
Next week: Mirror Crack'd  
==

Author's Notes: A baby cliffhanger. Every long story is required to have at least a few, right?

This week's special thanks go out to my incredibly awesome repeat reviewers: sabacat, seyenaidni and Quistis88. I'd like to also send out happy thoughts to Athena88 and the very enthusiastic ffgal. (Two reviews in one day… goodness, I'm flattered.) ^_^

A plug for my web site: Between chapters, feel free to check out: http://www.absolute-0.com !


	10. Chapter 9 Mirror Crack'd

Disclaimer: The very talented people at Squaresoft own these characters; I'm just borrowing them for a little bit. Buy their games, and give them your money!

==

**At an Arm's Length. . .  
A Final Fantasy VIII Story**

**Chapter 9: Mirror Crack'd**

"H- hello?"

"Goood morning, Quistis Trepe!" A sing-songy voice could be heard on the other end.

Quistis stared down at the mirror, still in her hand. _The glass is cracked._

"Quistis? Are you there?'

"Oh – Selphie! Yeah, I'm sorry. . . I don't think I'm fully awake yet."

"Oh, don't worry about it. You've still got an hour before we leave. Irvine's complaining because I woke him up early, too. . ."

The blonde ran her finger carefully over the looking glass's broken surface. It was missing a few pieces from when she had thrown it.

Selphie continued enthusiastically, ". . . and I just figured, that if you needed a little extra time, I could get Irvine to pick up breakfast for you in the cafeteria and then help you with your bags."

"That would be really helpful, Selphie," Quistis answered into the phone as she looked at the patterns the sunlight created on her unmade bed.

"O.K., then…"  
  
Quistis continued to survey her room. _How *did* this room get cleaned up? I sure as hell don't remember doing it. As her eyes traveled from the bed to the closet, she saw a flash of dark hair in her mirrored closet door. __Great, now I'm seeing things, she grimaced to herself._

"Quistis?"

"Umhm."

"I just asked you when you'd like me to tell Irvine to drop by your room."

"Sorry. I just kind of spaced out."

"That's cool. It just means that you_ really must need this vacation," Selphie giggled into the phone. "I'll tell him to stop by in half an hour."_

"Sure thing."

"See you in a bit," the chipper girl answered. CLICK.

Quistis returned the phone's handset to its receiver. 

"O.K., Trepe. Get a hold of yourself. You probably just need this time off." _Great. Talking to myself is a *sure* sign of sanity._

*****

She quickly made the bed and hopped into the shower. By the time Irvine knocked on the door, she was fully-dressed, and all that was left to do was dry her hair and put on her make up.

"Lovely 'do, there, Q," the cowboy said as he crossed the threshold of her room and, in two steps, was seated at her kitchenette's breakfast bar. 

"Just because your girlfriend is a morning person, you don't have to take it out on me!"

He started, until he realized she was half-joking. "I'm going to help myself."

"Sure. I've just got to dry my hair and gather the rest of my bath supplies." And she disappeared, again, into the bathroom.

Irvine took this opportunity to cram half of a bagel into his mouth and take a good look around Quistis' quarters. He didn't really have many opportunities to see what the girls' rooms looked like. _Well, except for Selphie's, he smirked to himself, wolfishly. _

Quistis' room was kind of what he expected it to be. A little messy, but basically, pretty well organized. _Man, she has a lot of stuff, he lifted a few books from the stack resting on her desk. He smiled warmly as he noticed the Valentine's Day violets on a slightly shaded part of the window sill and moved his attention to her dresser. _

_You can find out a lot about a woman by looking at her dresser. _

_Everything in its place. Perfume: Water's Edge. Jewelry box. Closed. Mustn't open it. Hm. What's this? He carefully reached to pick up the broken hand mirror, but it slipped from his hands. __Shoot, now it's all over the floor._

He bent down to retrieve it, and, hopefully, clean up the mess. _No pieces. But there are pieces missing from this. He looked under the dresser and the bed, and finally walked over to the small wastepaper basket by her desk. __Nothing. He stood up to his full height, took off his ever-present hat and scratched his temple, glancing for a split second at his reflection in the room's one full-length mirror._

He did a double-take.

_What the…? Her room was clean, he imagined it always was, but the room reflected in the closet's mirror was the closest thing he could imagine to a disaster. __My room times ten. _

He blinked. It was gone. Replaced by the reflection that was _supposed to be there._

"Irvine? What are you doing?"

He turned slowly to face her, "Um, nothing?" He looked down at his hands. He was still holding the broken hand mirror.  

Instead of anger, all he saw was anxiety. _Why is she so jumpy? "I'm sorry. I broke this. I should know better than to snoop –"_

She shook her head as if she was trying to clear it and moved toward the kitchenette and the waiting breakfast. "No, I accidentally broke it last night. I just think I need a break from this place."

He sat down next to her and patted her on the shoulder. "All in good time, Kiki."

She practically choked on her bagel, as her eyes met his with lightening speed. "_What did you just call me?"_

"Oh, just a little nickname you used to _ABSOLUTELY LOVE back in the day," he teased mischievously._

"One that I _absolutely loved or one that made me want to __absolutely throttle you?" She took another bite of bagel._

A slow grin overtook the young man's face. "O.K. I'll admit it. . . the latter. You never really let most of us call you by a nickname."

She swallowed her sip of orange juice. "You say 'most of us' as though I _did let __someone call me by a nickname."_

_Damn, I said too much. Irvine gulped uncomfortably, as his breakfast companion narrowed her incredibly blue eyes – __dead on me. Time for a change of subject.  "We'd better get going, if we're going to make the train to where they've been repairing Ragnarok. You have everything?"_

"Let me cram the last of my stuff into my train case," she said distractedly, moving to place the items in their designated compartment.

_Good save, moron, Irvine chided himself. __I have a feeling this trip is going to be a test for all of us — for Quistis, if she remembers, and for Selphie and me, if she doesn't._

==  
Next week: Arrival in Esthar  
==

Author's Notes: Huge props go out to my very kind repeat reviewers -- sabacat, Quistis88 and seyenaidni, and plus, greetings go out to AW. Oh, God. I am so sorry about the cliffhanger… it's just a baby one, and I restrained myself for almost 10 whole chapters!! (But I didn't know ff.net would go down.) ^_^

To those concerned, I haven't forgotten about Seifer. He's going to rear his rather handsome head. . . sooner or later. (This whole story is an exercise in patience and anticipation. It IS going somewhere, so pay attention to the clues.)

A plug for my web site: Between chapters, feel free to check out: http://www.absolute-0.com !


	11. Chapter 10 Arrival in Esthar

Disclaimer: The very talented people at Squaresoft own these characters; I'm just borrowing them for a little bit. Buy their games, and give them your money!

==

**At an Arm's Length. . .****  
A Final Fantasy VIII Story**

**Chapter 10: Arrival in Esthar**

_The trip to Esthar normally takes a couple of days, but thanks to the Ragnarok, and Selphie's piloting skills, we should be at the presidential residence in four more hours._

Irvine looked over the waters passing below. He had been banished from the cockpit – _too much of a distraction to Selphie, he grimaced – and Quistis had gone to take a nap. __She needs one. He was trying to think of something to do, besides obsess over what he saw in Quistis' room, when he felt a gentle tap on his shoulder. __Matron._

"Hel-lo, ma'am," he said, turning to her. "I thought you were keeping Selphie company?"

Her eyes crinkled up as she smiled in amusement, "Actually, Selphie requested – very politely – that I leave, too."

At this he couldn't help but half-chuckle. "Well, at least I know it isn't just me."

"Oh, no. She is rather serious about her pilot duties. She seems to have a lot on her mind, and so do you. . ."

"Yeah, I guess you could say that," he inhaled deeply. "I've been wondering. . . well, I know you and Selphie said the reason for this trip is to check out the orphanage building. See if it can be used for something else, but," he exhaled and inhaled, again, quickly, "that isn't the whole reason, is it?"

Edea's eyes opened wide, in shock. She knew that eventually one of the children would question her motives, but she didn't expect it to be easygoing Irvine. _But then again, he always has been intuitive, and he is closer to the possible situation than he realizes. I guess it's best to remain truthful. . . maybe just not the whole truth. She looked into his forthright eyes. __He's just concerned about his girlfriend and his other best friend._

"Irvine, between you and me," Matron started, "we're a little concerned about the side-effects of using the Guardian Forces. Specifically, the memory-loss aspect."

The lanky young man exhaled a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. "Well, since _I've never really used GFs, and Selphie is on her way to remembering, I'm assuming this is mostly about Quistis?"_

"Yes," the older woman answered quietly. "I'm hoping to jog her memory a bit. Gently. Can I count on you to keep your eyes open and let me know if you see anything unusual?"

He nodded, solemnly. _Only if it doesn't betray your best interests, Q._

Edea smiled, gently, and took her leave. _I may no longer have the powers of a sorceress, but I can still tell when my children are holding out. He'll come around. . . when he needs to._

*****

Quistis woke from her nap, feeling more refreshed than she had in days. _I guess I really just needed to get out of Garden. _

She splashed some water on her face and walked to join the others in the airship's control room. _They think they're so sly. As if I don't know what at least part of this trip is about. It's about memory loss. Specifically, *my* memory loss. It's not like I haven't been trying. I just wish I knew what it is that they want me to remember._

"Quistis, you're just in time," Irvine shouted. "We're about land."

Characteristically, Selphie was already bouncing in her seat. "And it looks as if they've sent cars for us!"

The blonde peeked out the window. It took a second for her eyes to adjust to the contrast between the lighted airstrip and afternoon's dying rays of sunlight. Just past the terminal, she saw two black limousines waiting, each displaying the Estharian national flag. _I guess there are some perks to knowing the president. "Cool."_

"You betcha!" Selphie chirped, as she expertly guided the transport in its final approach.

After the shutdown operations had been completed, the group exited the ship to be greeted by an unusually boisterous Ellone, who rushed past her step-father and his party and crashed into Matron's arms.

"Hyne! I'm so glad to finally see all of you again. It's been so long. . ." She pulled away from the embrace to look each of them over with a critical eye.

"Selphie, you look amazing. I love the new yellow sun dress. That _is new right?" The petite brunette bobbed her head and smiled broadly._

Irvine bowed deeply and kissed Ellone's hand in greeting. "Irvy, always the ladies' man, you've gotten even taller, haven't you?"

"Yes, miss. I just passed 6'1"."

"Don't 'miss' me, cowboy. I'm still your older sis," she grinned teasingly.

In turn, she now stood in front her favorite childhood helper. "Quistis." And she crushed the blonde in a hug.

Bewilderment shone is Quistis' brilliant blue eyes, as she slowly moved her arms to return Ellone's embrace. "Sis?"

Finally, Ellone pulled back, jerking Quistis into step with her, past President Loire, his advisors and the security detail, and toward the second of the waiting cars. "Come on, kid sis! Uncle Laguna has a casual dinner planned for us, and then we've got to set a gameplan for tomorrow!" She turned, and the corners of her mouth turned up into a smile at her other two childhood playmates, who were firmly planted where they had been met.

"Irvy! Selphie! Chop chop!"

Irvine linked his arm with Selphie's. "She's bossier than I remember."

"I think she's just happy to see us," Selphie whispered, as she softly punched him in his side. "Besides, she remembers us as little kids."

Irvine's mouth settled into a thin line. "Yes, she does." _And I think Quistis may be her and Matron's project for the next few days._

Edea smiled at her foster daughter's behavior, and then turned her attention to the forty-ish gentlemen doing the same.

"Mrs. Kramer, it's a pleasure to finally talk with you in person," the man smiled and offered his hand in greeting.

"No, it's Edea, President Loire –"

"Then, please call me Laguna. No one who knows me personally can actually say that with a straight face," he interrupted. "Besides, we don't want to give these two," he motioned to Kiros and Ward, "fits during your stay."

She had to grin back, as he and his right-hand men escorted her to the first car. _Next project: get Squall off of his high horse and get him to visit his father more often._

Now settled in the car and out of the earshot of the "children," Laguna was able to speak more freely. "You don't know how glad I was to hear that all of you were to visit. Elle doesn't have the opportunity to be around people her own age as much as I would like... just old farts like us."

Ward snorted, and Kiros turned around to face his former commanding officer. "Hey, speak for yourself!" He continued, half-muttering to himself, "Besides, if you'd encourage her to come to my squadron's parties, we could do something about that."

"I heard that."

Edea just chuckled. Elle was definitely somewhere where she was loved. _Now if only I can get my other former charges into gear._

Laguna poked the back of Kiros' seat with his walking stick. "Ow!" 

"That'll teach ya," he returned, with a goofy smile, to Edea. "So the plan is to hit the orphanage in Centra?"

"Why yes, we'd like to give it the once over and see if its building is suitable for the Gardens' future use."

One dark, masculine eyebrow quirked suspiciously, "Well, you know if you're concerned about that, we can just send one of my architectural engineers down there with you and –"

"Oh, no thank you, this is just a preliminary, informal inquiry," Edea started, a tone of alarm barely perceptible in her voice, before she realized the president was having some fun at her expense.

"I _knew it was something along the lines of that," he replied triumphantly. "Just be sure to let me know if there is any way – besides staying here – that we can be of service. Now, fill me in about my son's latest exploits and about what these kids have been up to since I saw them last. . ." _

==  
Next week: Where Ships Come In  
==

Author's Notes: Eek! Bad ff.net, for going offline like that. If you've read this chapter, please review… I need to know that someone is still reading this, because there weren't any reviews for the last chapter. :-(

BTW: the latest situation with Fanfiction.net has prompted me to move forward on my own fanfiction site: www.projectsurlygirl.com . I'll be opening it in late August/early September, so if you'd like me to send you a "grand opening" notice when it goes online, drop me an e-mail. 

I'll continue to post here, but if there are ever outages, etc., again, those of you who have been so kind to keep up with my little yarn won't have to wait for ages to get an update.

A plug for my web site: Between chapters, feel free to check out: http://www.absolute-0.com !


	12. Chapter 11 Where Ships Come In

Disclaimer: The very talented people at Squaresoft own these characters; I'm just borrowing them for a little bit. Buy their games, and give them your money!

==

**At an Arm's Length. . .  
****A Final Fantasy VIII Story**

**Chapter 11: Where Ships Come In**

_It's late, and I can't sleep. So I'm sitting on the dock, in the dead of night, here in Fisherman's Horizon. _

_No matter what the time is, the lighted boats come in and out of the nearby harbor. The people who serve as the crews for these vessels have lives – real lives, with wives, girlfriends, children and families. Lives they leave behind for days and weeks at a time when they go to sea. But when they come back, they have something to look forward to, people who care about them and who are praying for their safe return._

_The phrase "when his ship comes in" has taken on a whole new meaning. I wonder if mine ever will._

_Why am I sitting out here? Because I dreamt about you, again._

_I can imagine what your reaction would be, if you knew. You'd brush back those strands of hair that you hide behind and roll your eyes. You'd try to cover up that you are blushing by making a really ugly face. And you'd say, in a slightly irritated voice, "Get your mind out of the gutter, Almasy."_

_Don't get your panties in a wad, Instructor. It wasn't like that. . . this time._

Seifer abruptly closed the journal with a loud "thwap" and, without turning around, said softly, "Isn't it a little late for you to be up, Fujin?"

She gingerly made her way to join him on the bench along the dock's edge. "I thought I was pretty quiet that time."

"All those years of SeeD training aren't something you forget after only a couple of years."

"YES," Fujin answered, noting the forlorn look in his eyes. A look like he was missing something. Or someone. "But I've got a disadvantage due to my condition."

He gave her a sideways glance, and the corners of his mouth twitched slightly upward, as he saw her lightly trace her not-yet-swollen abdomen. "How's my nephew doing this morning?"

"Busy. Wants Daddy home."

Seifer nodded solemnly in agreement. "Rai's nearly done with his contract, right? I mean – he's got another eight months, but then he can take that mechanic position, instead of having to go out."

"Yes."

"Good," he responded with finality. 

Fujin looked at the young man seated next to her. Seifer wasn't much older than she and Rai were. In fact, in some ways, he seemed younger than them. Until you looked in his eyes. She had no idea exactly what horrors they had seen. Seifer's eyes were the eyes of someone much older, and now they were staring off toward faraway lands. 

_He's restless, she thought, sadly. They had cajoled him into promising to stay – at least until the baby was born – and then only after Rai made a big deal about not wanting her to be home alone while he was on the fishing trawler. She absently patted her stomach. __Little one, he's going to leave us. I hope you get to know him._

"Seifer?"

"Hmhmm." Blue-green eyes still searched the dark waters, not noticing that his companion's gaze had fallen to the well-worn book, half hidden by his hand.

"You," she started, almost timidly. "You write to _her, don't you?"_

His blond lashes fluttered in surprise at such an unexpected question, before he responded in a measured tone, "Who do you mean?"

"Instructor Trepe."

"Yes," he answered simply. He felt cool fingers linger just for a moment, straightening his signet ring, before covering his hand fully.

"I thought so." She took a deep breath. "You always were sweet on her."

Seifer finally faced her, astonishment written all over his face.

There was no mocking in her voice, as she continued, with a slight grin. "She was the only person with 'untouchable' status on our Disciplinary Committee list." A sad frown was beginning to form on his face. _Oh, come on, don't frown like that. . .   _

"Seifer, no one else knows. It wasn't obvious. Rai doesn't even –" 

"Then how do you know?" A flat voice countered.

"Because. . .  I'm a girl, and, well, she one of the only people who _was consistently nice. I mean –"_

"Fuu –"

"NO! IMPORTANT." She cut him off, and resumed at a volume just above a whisper. "She's good enough for you."

Seifer had to bite his lip to keep from laughing bitterly. _She's only known for a week or so, and it's already __time to humor the pregnant lady? I'm a murderer, a disgrace and a disappointment, and Quistis, of all people, is "good enough for *me*?"  He heard his own, carefully modulated, response, "Really?"_

Ignoring the disbelieving eyes boring into her, Fujin said, "YES." _He looks as if he could break._

His eyes shifted, quickly back to the journal in his hand. "You know, she and I grew up together. . . at the orphanage, I mean. I wonder if she. . ."

Seifer stopped himself and looked over at his longtime friend, who in a split second, seemed to have fallen totally asleep. _So being pregnant makes you narcoleptic, eh?_

He carefully hoisted Fujin up and started to carry her back to her home. _I wonder if Quistis remembers that there *was* a time when she considered me a friend?_

==  
Next week: Wish You Were Here  
==

Author's Notes: Oh, my goodness. What an outpouring of support. Thank you! (And I promise never to whine like that again.) ^_^

A few people expressed concern that I might not continue the story. Don't worry about it: when I start stuff, it takes almost an act of God to keep me from finishing. Plus, if I wasn't continuing, I wouldn't go through setting up my own archive. -- plug: projectsurlygirl.com -- Opening in late August.

Thanks, again!

==  
A plug for my web site: Between chapters, feel free to check out: http://www.absolute-0.com !  
==


	13. Chapter 12 Wish You Were Here

Disclaimer: The very talented people at Squaresoft own these characters; I'm just borrowing them for a little bit. Buy their games, and give them your money!

==

**At an Arm's Length. . .  
****A Final Fantasy VIII Story**

**Chapter 12: Wish You Were Here**

The sun beat down with an intensity that seemed otherworldly. _I guess you could consider Time Compression another world, of sorts, Seifer thought as he continued to trudge through the barren wasteland that stretched unendingly before him._

_Keep moving._

He had been walking for hours and hours. For all he knew, he could be walking in circles. _The damn wind keeps blowing and shifting the sand dunes around. No supplies. No canteen with water. No meal rations. Not even a handkerchief that he could use to prevent himself from breathing in the granules and particles flying furiously through the air._

_Keep moving. _

He was alone. _I *deserve* to be alone. Even Raijin and Fujin finally left me. It figures that bitch Ultimicia would leave me alone, now. Now that she's probably achieved her goals. I *am* a lapdog. I wasn't strong enough to resist her. She used me, and now I've been tossed aside. Like garbage._

If his eyes could have formed tears, he would have cried. _I've hurt so many people. I killed innocents. The people I wanted to protect._

_Keep moving. Unconsciously, he was slowing down. His knees bent slightly as the wind pushed him from behind. Tightening his grip on Hyperion, he drove its blade into sand in front of him, just as the wind finally blasted him. _

As he fell, face-forward, his eyes were blinded by harsh sunlight reflecting off of the dunes that surrounded him.

_Quistis._

Cool hands brushed his bangs from his forehead, prompting him to open his eyes. 

"Shh."

_It's so bright, but through his squinting eyes, he made out blond hair and those eyes, __those blue eyes. "Quistis," he muttered, this time attempting to grasp her hand. __Am I hallucinating? Am I finally dead? _

"Quistis –"

"Shh. Don't talk. You don't need to. . ."

_She's trying to calm me down. She looks so scared. What is *she* doing here? All she ever did was try to help me. I know this now. I can't do anything. Wait._

Seifer took a raspy breath. "No. I have to . . . apology. . ."

"Shh." 

_Her eyes are welling up with the tears I can't cry. I've done this to you. It's all that I can say now. All that I can do – _ "Sorry."

The tears that had been threatening to stream down Quistis' face hit Seifer's cheek as she gathered him up the best she could.

_Cold. Her tears are cold, _he wondered, using the last of his strength to return her embrace. _I don't want you to be here. You shouldn't be here. I'm sorry, Quistis. So sorry._

A bright blue light surrounded them and ripped them from each other. When Seifer opened his eyes next, he was surrounded by darkness and a mist. 

_Where am I? Where'd she go? _He instinctively rose and squinted for a better view of the light that was in the distance. A woman's figure was silhouetted against it, and she was looking down. He started to run toward it. _It looks familiar. Is it someone I know?_  He continued running. As he drew closer, he realized that they were on a cliff of some sort and the figure, with a hood now drawn over her head, was teetering on the edge.

"No," Seifer said softly, fear rising from his chest into his throat. "Don't do it. Please."

The figure turned away from him, as if she didn't hear or see him. 

And just stepped off.

****

"NOOOOO!" Seifer bolted upright in his bed, tossing aside the now sweat-soaked sheets.

"Another dream, Almasy. It's just another dream." _The last part is, anyway. Damn. It's a good thing I'm next door to Rai and Fu and not living with them. This racket could wake the dead. _He made his way to the bathroom to towel off, smirking to himself grimly. _I might as well be considered dead._

Now armed with a glass of water, he wandered over to his kitchen table, lit a candle and opened up the journal.

_So, Teach. You should be pleased with yourself. Youngest SeeD grad, you've set another record: I can't honestly say I've dreamt about *any* girl for a week straight before._

He put the pen to his mouth before he half-realized he was about to chew it. _At least I know you made it out of Time Compression alive. You're one of the "great heroes." It's better than being on my end of things. I bet Puberty Boy is hating all of this attention. _

_I saw a picture of you in the newspaper a few months ago – a shot from when you stopped that assassination attempt in Timber. You looked sad. I mean, you've always looked kind of serious, but –  _he looked up for a moment, searching for the right words – _this was different. You know, Quisty, I may have teased and tortured you throughout our childhood. I may have picked on you when you were my instructor. But I never *really* wanted you to be unhappy. _

_Don't become like me._

He sat there for a few minutes, staring at the words he had written, before his head snapped up. He blew out the candle, and the patented, Seifer-self-preservation instinct kicked in. "Get a grip, Almasy."

As he put the journal back into its hiding place, he wistfully grinned to himself. _This reminds me of "the post office."_

He settled into bed. _She never did pick up what I left for her. Maybe… someday… I'll go back and see if it's still there._

*****

It was four in the morning, and Quistis had awakened from a fitful sleep only to find moonlight, nearly as bright as a streetlight, streaming through the window and hitting her smack in the face. She got up from her sleeping bag, careful not to wake up Ellone and Selphie. _Wait, correct that, Selphie's not here. I'll bet she's with __Irvine__,_ her mouth quirked.

The view from Edea's house was amazing, and it was made even more so by moonlight. _It looks… otherworldly, _she thought as she stood drowsily by the window and wrapped the blanket she had thrown over her shoulders more tightly around herself. A soft blue glow began to shine around her, and quietly, in a trancelike state, she left the room and proceeded to walk down the stairs.

She exited the structure through the door and porch that opened out onto the beach, not noticing the couple snuggled up on the swing.

Irvine shifted in his half-aware state, careful not to wake Selphie, when he saw a luminous figure move past their not-so-tucked away space. "Quistis?" he muttered softly, thinking it was a dream, and fell back asleep.

She made her way along the beach, following a long-forgotten path to the caves. The third one to her left – one that still had a view of the water. Her hand traced the structure's wall, until her fingers found a natural cubby hole worn into the stone by the elements.

As the blue light started to fade away, Quistis sank toward the floor and, still wrapped in her blanket, fell into an even deeper state of sleep.

==                  
Next week: Games Children Play  
==

Author's Notes: As always, thanks for your support. (I sound like a "Bartles & James" ad.) Your reviews are an incredible incentive to keep on going. :-)  [Which is the plan, y'know!]

I'm also glad people are following the little clues I've been scattering throughout the chapters. Part of the fun with stories like this is seeing if you're right in the end. 

I have just one request: Please don't leave your guesses in the reviews. If you do, I'll feel as if I have to change everything around. Trust me – this baby is very layered, and it would be very difficult to make major edits this far into it. (I also don't want to work that hard!)

Finally: At the end of August, my new site will debut -- www.projectsurlygirl.com . Be sure to let me know if you'd like an e-mail sent your way when it goes live.

A plug for my web site: Between chapters, feel free to check out: http://www.absolute-0.com !


	14. Chapter 13 Games Children Play

Disclaimer: The very talented people at Squaresoft own these characters; I'm just borrowing them for a little bit. Buy their games, and give them your money!

==

**At an Arm's Length. . .  
****A Final Fantasy VIII Story**

**Chapter 13: Games Children Play**

"Quiiisstyyy! Quisty! Hurry up or Zell'll try to follow us."

"Shhh! If you yell like that, *everyone* will try to follow us, and they'll find it," she replied in a low, annoyed voice.

He made a face and conceded reluctantly, "You're right. This time." 

The two, golden-haired children walked hurriedly, hand-in-hand across the dunes, occasionally turning around to confirm that they weren't being tailed.

"Of course I am. I'm older than you –"

"Not that again. You're only older by a couple of months. That doesn't count."

"Yes, it does. I'm seven. Anyway. . . today, it's your turn, what do you think they left for you?"

He pondered the thought for a few moments as they continued their brief journey down the rocky beach to the third cavern on the left. "I don't know, but they seem to try to keep it even. I mean, when they left you the dolls made out of sticks, they left me a raft for them later that month."

The little girl regarded the small gold band and tiny blue stones that adorned her right hand. "They said it was my mother's," she murmured softly. "Maybe they'll bring you something from your mom, too."

"I miss her."

"I know, but at least you can remember her. I wish I could remember my mom, even if it was only a little bit."

Tears were just starting to brim up in her eyes, when her six-and-three-quarters-of-a-year-old companion grabbed her hand. "HURRY UP! We've got to make it back before Matron and Sis start looking for us. It's OUR post office box – they said so."

She held her breath as they reached the familiar knot in the cave's stone wall. He put his hand in and withdrew a crumpled handkerchief.

It was quite old – but still a clean white – and had a small "A" embroidered on it. He carefully unwadded it to reveal a delicate gold chain, threaded through an equally delicate gold and silver cross, encrusted with tiny diamond chips.

A familiar blue glow surrounded them, and they heard a melodious adult voice. "Lad?"

"Yes," he answered in a hushed voice.

"This belonged to your mother. She'd like you to have it now."

Quistis quietly reached for his free hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

_*****_

Quistis shifted about in her sleep, as the morning's first rays of light started to spill over the horizon, hitting her with their warmth. Half-conscious, she stretched but recoiled quickly when her hand hit something unfamiliar. Something immovable. Her eyes still closed, inquisitive fingers continued to search, and then she sat up quickly. Wide awake. Her hands flew to her face.

_O.K. My glasses are on. I'm in my pajamas. I'm barefoot. I've got a blanket, but. . . I'm outside, in a cave along the beach? _

"God, tell me I'm not going crazy," she mused, as she stood up slowly. She could smell the familiar scent of salt in the air. She loved this smell. It always made her think of home. _Wherever that is._

Her location was now fully illuminated. _I must be on the other side of the point, just east of Edea's House. How did I get here?_

To no one in particular, she half-groaned, "I have enough issues, now I'm sleepwalking, too?"

She had just leaned against the nearest wall when her long fingers brushed against a small opening. She stepped back and dropped gently to her knees, staring at the low spot. _There's something in there._

Cautiously, she reached in and pulled out a blue bundle, childishly tied together with what once must have been a little girl's pink hair ribbon. It looked pretty old.

Quistis regarded it carefully. For a second, she considered putting the package back in what was obviously its hiding place. _But there haven't been kids down here for at least ten years, _she wondered. Then she noticed a grubby slip of paper poking out from the bundle's corners. She gasped when she realized what was carefully printed on it.

"To: Quisty T."

She pulled the end of the ribbon and spread out the blue square of cloth to reveal a simple, but elegant, chain and cross. She stared at it for what seemed like a very long time.

_This all seems so familiar._

Far in the distance, she heard a shout. "Quistis?!"

_Irvine__._ Without really thinking, she quickly put on the necklace and wrapped the blanket around her torso like a shawl. 

"Quistis?" He was getting closer. She absently reached beneath the folds of cloth to touch the cross. _You're a gift. To me._ _It feels right to keep you a secret, for a little while at least._

Her face flushed, she rose to meet Irvine before he was close enough discover her whereabouts. 

But before she left, she slipped a small sapphire and diamond ring from her right hand, wrapped it up in the blue cloth and placed it in the . . . 

"Post office."

==  
Next week: Dazed and Confused  
==

Author's Notes: Hmmmm. Who do you think the little boy was? (Just kidding.) ;-)

Again, thanks to everyone reading this. I apologize for getting this up on Wednesday, rather than the usual Tuesday. (The schedule will have to be Wednesdays for the next few weeks, because my writing schedule's been jam-packed.)

As always, I love hearing from ya'll, so don't be shy and review if the mood strikes! 

The next installment will be out on August 14!

A plug for my web site: Between chapters, feel free to check out: http://www.absolute-0.com !


	15. Chapter 14 Dazed and Confused

Disclaimer: The very talented people at Squaresoft own these characters; I'm just borrowing them for a little bit. Buy their games, and give them your money!

==

**At an Arm's Length. . .  
****A Final Fantasy VIII Story**

**Chapter 14: Dazed and Confused**

"Quistis? QUISTIS!" Irvine yelled, as he caught sight of her and ran to where she stood. By the time he did, he was panting. She just looked at him in confusion.

"Where'd " – pant – "you" – "go? I mean, we all woke up, and we couldn't find you, and –" 

"Slow down and breathe," she smirked at him. "You've been spending so much time with Selphie that you're starting to sound just like her."

_Dammit. She thinks this is funny! He proceeded calmly, "OK. Just where __did you go, anyway?"_

"For a walk."

"Without telling any of us? Come on, Quistis. One, that's not safe, and two –"

"What?" she snapped back, irritably. "I'm a freakin' SeeD. I can take care of myself." Her eyes widened, as if she were surprised.

Irvine was speechless. _I've *never* seen her lose her temper like this._

She started again, calmly, like the Quistis to which he was accustomed. "Listen, Irvine, I shouldn't have torn into you like that," she half-sighed and pulled her blanket more tightly around her. "I'm not a morning person, I went out for a walk and I didn't expect to confront someone screaming my name at the top of his lungs quite this early." She gave him a weak smile. _I hope he buys this.  
  
"It's not even 7 a.m., and we were worried," he said defensively as they started their trek back to the orphanage. "I mean you're __not a morning person. So what __are you doing up?"_

"I couldn't sleep."

They continued walking in silence for a good five minutes. Quistis kept her eyes trained straight forward, bobbing her head from side to side, occasionally. 

_She's obviously trying to avoid conversation. You're not gettin' off that easily, kid. "Hey. What's with your neck? Did ya' sleep funny or something?" __My money's on the "or something."_

Still keeping a steady pace, she responded, "I must have."

Gently, Irvine grabbed her arm, halted her and moved behind her.

"What are you doing?"

"Your neck's obviously bothering you, and I don't have any spells on me, so I'm going to work the kink out by applying pressure to the designated point. . ."

She felt his hand brush the edge of the blanket away from her neck –_ the necklace! – "STOP IT!"_

Quistis flinched at his touch and shied away from him suddenly, her face flushed. 

_Now I KNOW something's up. "Quistis, I'm med certified. . ."_

"Sorry, I just think it's better to let it work itself out. I'm cranky. I'm sorry," she shrugged and continued toward the beachfront property where Matron, Elle and Selphie were waiting.

Irvine stared after her in disbelief. _She's hiding something, and she's not that good of a liar. At least not with me. Determination shone clearly in his eyes, as he followed her. __We're getting to the bottom of this._

*****

He figured they had about twenty minutes while Quistis showered and changed aboard the Ragnarok. It was going to be a very busy twenty minutes.

_Luckily, Matron is also aboard, checking in with Cid._

"Irvine? Earth to Irvy?" Selphie interrupted his thoughts.

"Yes," said Ellone, as she joined them. "What is so urgent that you need to talk to us this minute?"

"It's Quistis," he began tersely.

"Where *did* you find her, anyway?" Selphie asked.

"That's just it: I found her nearly a mile and a half down the shore near what appeared to be caves –"

 Ellone perked up. "Caves?"

"Caves. And she seemed disoriented." He turned to Selphie, "I know she's not a morning person like you, but something was really off. She also kind of… freaked out on me."

Irvine related what had happened on their walk back, and during the course of the story, Ellone looked more and more concerned. "Sis, what do you make of this?"

Her eyes darkened as she faced her younger siblings._ "Selphie?"  
  
"Yes!"_

"You keep Quistis busy until we get back. Irvine, do you think you could show me where you found her?"

*****

Normally, Quistis Trepe was an in-and-out-of-the-shower kind of girl, but today, she had a feeling that this was probably the only place she would have any privacy. 

The steam that filled compartment was already relaxing the sore muscles of her neck. _I should have let Irvine try to fix it, she thought as she reclined in the tub. "But then he would have discovered you, and I don't know what you mean yet," she spoke to herself in a hushed voice while examining the cross and chain._

Her slender fingers traced the pendant's familiar outline. "Someone wanted me to have you and keep you safe." She leaned her head back and laid the jewelry on the counter next to her. "Someone thought that much of me. . . once." _Damn it, why can't I remember? _

Quistis soaked and dozed for quite some time, enjoying the warmth of the water against her skin. _I can't stay here forever, I'll end up looking like a prune. She tilted her head along the side of the tub and lazily opened her eyes. . ._

Just in time to catch a flash of blue and dark hair reflected in the mirror. She shot up and out of the tub, water dripping around her and soaking the floor mat.

Looking cautiously, but quickly, side to side, she moved closer to the mirror. _There's no one here but me._

"I'm not crazy. I'm not crazy. I'm not crazy," Quistis repeated to herself as she hurriedly gathered her bath supplies and threw on her robe. The idea of solitude was, all of a sudden… not so appealing. "Great. This is what a crazy person would say." _What is happening to me?_

==                  
Next week: Not Quite Spelunking  
==

Author's Notes: Mirrors? Dark hair? The color blue? Hmmmm. ;-)

Thanks so much for the kind reviews… It's nice to know that ya'll feel the story is maintaining its sense of mystery. (You know, this is quite a feat since I gave away the ending in the prologue. It's all about the process.)

The next installment will be out next Wednesday night (August 21)!

A plug for my web site: Between chapters, feel free to check out http://www.absolute-0.com !


	16. Chapter 15 Not Quite Spelunking

Disclaimer: The very talented people at Squaresoft own these characters; I'm just borrowing them for a little bit. Buy their games, and give them your money!

==

**At an Arm's Length. . .  
A Final Fantasy VIII Story**

**Chapter 15: Not Quite Spelunking**

"OW! Where's the fire?" Selphie screeched, as Quistis just about plowed over her on her way out of the Ragnarok's bathroom.

She looked at the speechless blonde incredulously. _She looks as if she's seen a ghost._

"Oh, I'm sorry, Selphie. I – I didn't see you there," Quistis practically stuttered and continued to mutter, "I don't know what's getting into me lately."  
  
"What was that?"

Blue eyes snapped to attention. "Nothing. I'm sorry." And she continued down the hall to the changing room.

Selphie stared after her for a moment before she remembered that she had to keep an eye on Quistis at all costs. She stood outside the compartment where her friend had gone to change, took a deep breath and burst in like she always did.

Quistis was tucking her T-shirt into her jeans and looked up with a slightly annoyed expression, one unlike any the younger girl had seen before.

"Yes?"

"Oh. I was just thinking we could make some breakfa – Ooh? Is that new?"

Before Quistis could stop her, Selphie was insistently, but gently, grasping the chain and pendant around her neck.

"I guess you could say so. . ." Quistis replied softly. _If you only knew._

"Well," the petite girl remained undeterred, "About that breakfast. . ."

*****

"It's around here somewhere," Irvine muttered, half to himself, as he continued down the rocky stretch of beach with Ellone trailing behind him.

"How will you know for sure?"

"I marked where I found her."

Elle giggled. "I always forget: SeeD training kicks in every time, doesn't it?"

"Yup. AH! Here it is!"

She surveyed the land around her. _It looks so familiar. "Wait a second! I've been here before."_

"When we were kids?"

"Yes, when we were children," she replied and turned to face a very concerned young man. He frowned when he heard her next question. "What do you remember most about Quistis as a child?"

"She was a little bossy," he smiled.

"That's – not – quite what I was getting at, but continue."

"It's a hard question. I mean, I wasn't the one closest to her. . ." his voice trailed off. "Seifer. . . was."

Elle grinned triumphantly. "So you _really do remember as much as I think you do!" _

"Is that a good thing?"

"It will be. It helped me jog my memory a bit." She swatted his cowboy hat over his eyes playfully. "Now let's get back."

"You're not going to tell me what this is all about?"

"No. You'll know your role when the time comes."

He stared at the young woman who was now several paces ahead of him and yelled, "And what the HELL is _that supposed mean?"_

*****

The orphanage's makeshift kitchen was bustling with activity by the time Irvine and Ellone returned.

Quistis looked up at the cowboy archly from where she was pouring juice for Matron. "Isn't it always just like a boy to arrive in time to eat but not in time to help?"

"Hey! I've already gotten grief from you and Elle this morning." Irvine continued his rant, "And I don't see any food that you cooked, this is all Selphie's doing!"

The former instructor burst out laughing. "Touché. My pancakes would be have to be considered 'blackened.'" Regaining control, she said in her best calm, adult voice, "I'm sorry Irvine. I was just hazing you."

The injured male ego of the group just "hmphed" to himself and went over to get food and attention from his girlfriend.

"Quistis Trepe. Since when did you 'haze' anyone?" Matron asked, feigning shock as she helped herself to some melon.

A quizzical look passed over the girl's face briefly before she answered. "I don't know. I guess I just saw an opening."

"Matron! Elle!" Selphie shouted from across the room. "Be sure to make Quistis show you her new necklace."

_Damn. We really are like family, Quistis groaned inwardly._

"Necklace?" Matron and Elle chimed together.

_Nothing stays secret for long._

Selphie nodded enthusiastically. "It's soooo pretty!" she said to the two older women. And then she scolded Quistis in mock-serious voice, "You shouldn't hold out on us with things like this."

"What's the big deal? It's just more jewelry… OW!" Irvine yelped as "his Selphie" swatted him on the back. "What'd you do that for?"

Ignoring the spat brewing on the other side of the room, Matron turned to Quistis with a mischievous glint in her eyes and said in a very business-like fashion. "Let's see this necklace of yours."

Quistis took a deep breath and carefully untucked it from beneath the neckline of her T-shirt.

Elle quietly gasped and thanked her lucky stars that the younger woman seemed to be paying more attention to Matron than to her at the moment. It gave her just enough time to cover her shock._ I haven't seen that necklace before, but I've sure heard about it._

==          
Next week: By the Light of the Moon  
==

Author's Notes: Thanks to konton and Quistis88 for reviewing last chapter. (Quistis88: You're one of the ones who's been leaving reviews since the beginning, so I am especially honored that you are still sticking with this not-so-short little endeavor.)

See ya'll next week. Same Bat-time, same Bat-channel. (Next update will be on Wednesday, August 28, 2002)

Be sure to check out my site: http://www.absolute-0.com – Where you find what's cool.


	17. Chapter 16 By the Light of the Moon

Disclaimer: The very talented people at Squaresoft own these characters; I'm just borrowing them for a little bit. Buy their games, and give them your money!

==

**At an Arm's Length. . .  
A Final Fantasy VIII Story**

**Chapter 16: By the Light of the Moon**

As the Ragnarok lifted off from Esthar air station, Ellone smiled brightly to her younger compatriots aboard the massive ship. _The pieces are coming together. She started when a strong arm unexpectedly slid around her shoulder._

"You're looking rather pleased with yourself, Elle," the Estharian president half-chuckled. "I don't suppose you'd share your thoughts with the old man?"

She grimaced at his choice of words. _Old man… he's anything but. "Uncle Laguna, I'll be more than happy to share details of the trip with you, but I'd prefer to do so when we get back to the residence, O.K.?"_

Noting the sparkle in his charge's eyes, he couldn't help grinning. "All right, but you'd better not back out of our little appointment."

She smiled warmly. "I wouldn't miss it for the world." _I'm going to need your help now more than ever._

*****

"Good night, Kiros, Ward."

"G'night," the two men replied in unison as they exited his office. 

President. Of Esthar. _If only Raine could see me now, Laguna thought while he waited for his computer to shut down._

This was his favorite time of day. Or night, rather. The time when most members of his staff had retired to their homes, and he was able to walk freely along the corridors and passages of the presidential grounds. 

Moonlight passed through the dramatic windows that lined the hallway from his office to his quarters. It pooled along the hardwood floor in an almost liquid fashion. Instead of heading straight to his suite, he made a detour downstairs and through the garden to Elle's favorite spot. 

It was a bewitching location, and he loved it for the same reason she did. It reminded him of his wife. It wasn't anything in particular. For some reason, they just both felt closer to her there.

A bluish cast fell over the full, white roses and bench that inhabited the deserted corner.

_10:45 p.m. She's late, he thought as he sat down wearily._

"Uncle Laguna?" A soft voice interrupted his racing thoughts.

"Over here, kiddo," he replied. 

A tired smile greeted her as she joined him on the bench. "So what's the big secret?"

"This is where you give away your background as a journalist. You always have cut to the chase –"

"Especially where you're concerned. After all, you _are my daughter."_

The solemn look in his eyes betrayed his smile. He would always blame himself for what happened to Squall and their resulting lack of a father-son relationship. 

_He's a kind man, and all the world realizes it… except for the person whose opinion matters most. She gave him a peck on the cheek. "I'm both proud and thankful for that," she said lightly. "I'm sorry I couldn't fill you in about our trip before, but there is some delicate information that needs to stay between us –"_

"Say no more. My curiosity is killing me at this point. Hurry up."

"Yes, sir," she answered with a mischievous smirk and a mock salute. "You remember my friend Quistis?"

"The really pretty, blond, little ladylike one that has my Secret Service squad practically falling all over themselves like schoolboys? _That Quistis?"_

Elle giggled softly. "That Quistis. Don't forget 'smart'. She's probably one of the smartest people we'll ever meet in our lifetimes."

"Well, I didn't get to talk to her to discover that. I think you'd better add shy to her list of attributes, too. She didn't seem antisocial or ill at ease among the gaggle of people that surrounded us the night ya'll spent here, but she certainly isn't as . . ." he searched for the right word, "_boisterous as your friend Selphie."_

"Uncle Laguna, _nobody is as boisterous as Selphie. But I think you're right about Quistis. She __is shy, although I'm not sure anyone around Garden would use that word. . . They're too much in awe of her," she finished with a slight frown. "She's lonely."_

"Well, they do say you can be at your loneliest in a crowd," he continued for her, sighing just slightly. _Raine._

"You understand, and I know you'll understand what I have to tell you. It is incredibly important, though, that we keep this between the two of us."

Laguna gave his stepdaughter a wary look before answering. "Consider me sworn to secrecy. I take it that this is about your power and that it has something to do with your friend, the lovely Miss Trepe?" 

He received a quick nod in response, as she added, "We also need to keep this from Edea and Cid."

"O.K."

"I've told you about my years at the orphanage, and you've met most of the kids that grew up with me. Well, you haven't met all of them.  .  . or at least, all of them _in person since the second Sorceress conflict."_

"I'm assuming you mean Seifer Almasy?"

"Yes. Seifer. Let me explain what he has to do with this and with Quistis. He and she had a connection. I don't fully understand what it was or is and what it means, but it was disrupted when Seifer was brainwashed and made Edea's knight."

"They never proved it was brainwashing," Laguna interrupted with a slightly critical expression on his face.

"They never disproved it either," she countered quickly. "The little boy I knew was a mischievous troublemaker, but he had honor. He would protect the orphanage kids from bullies whenever Matron would take us to town for supplies. He protected the weak because it was a 'knight's duty.' And he was exceptionally devoted to one person in particular."

"Quistis?"

"Quistis. They were inseparable when I knew them, and Matron says they were until the day those horrible people adopted her," she continued, a slightly venomous tone creeping into her voice. "Edea says that after she left, it was like a switch had been flipped. He had always been competitive with Squall, but things increased exponentially without Quistis around. It got even worse once they entered Garden."

"But she was with them there, wasn't she?"

"Yes, but she was already using the Guardian Forces' powers by the time she encountered them, so I don't know how much or if she remembered either of them at all."

Laguna's eyebrows furrowed together. "That couldn't have been good."

"I don't think so, either, but that brings us to our current problem. Now, SeeD officers use a new protocol – one that was developed to reduce the side effects of junctioning, but a lot of them are still in the process of regaining their memories. Quistis has pretty much stopped using GFs, but –"

"She hasn't regained her memory?"

"Only bits and pieces. In particular, she doesn't remember Seifer. . .which is strange because he was so important to her."

"O.K., but why is this so important now?"

"Irvine and Matron both think she's depressed and acting kind of strangely. And then, during the trip, there was the sleepwalking incident. . ."

As Ellone related what Irvine had told her, Laguna's face grew more and more serious with each word.

"Now_ that is one thing entirely, but after Irvine and I joined them for breakfast, Selphie started going on about some new necklace that Quistis was wearing. . ." she paused. "I know it's going to sound really strange, but please go with me on this."_

Laguna nodded.

"Like I said, Quistis and Seifer were practically joined at the hip when they were younger, so it wasn't anything unusual for them to go off on their own for hours at a time. Even though there was always the potential that Seifer would get into trouble, Quistis was a good girl, so we let them," she smiled. "One day, after they had disappeared for a very long time, I found them on a stretch of beach – which, incidentally, is where Irvine found Quistis the day before yesterday – bickering. Seifer was excited and wanted to show me something he found, and she was trying to dissuade him.

"First, he grabbed her hand and described to me a ring that she was wearing. Now, he was very specific, but from I could see, she wasn't wearing a ring. I went along with him, figuring he was playacting. He also described a necklace he _said he was wearing. Again, he was very specific: it was a small, diamond cross on a thin chain, and he said it was from his mother. I told them that they'd have to return to the orphanage in ten minutes and started back. As I was leaving, I heard Quistis scolding him, and Seifer answering with something along the line of '__See, I told you no one else could see them. We're the only ones who can.'"_

Ellone shrugged and rubbed her temple. "I hadn't thought about it in years. . . until that morning at breakfast. Quistis was _wearing the necklace I remember Seifer describing."_

"Whoa," Laguna's mouth hung open for a brief second in surprise. "That's kind of . . . weird. Like spooky book kind of weird. So what do you need me to do?"

"Well, we need to keep this on the QT, and that includes Edea and Cid. I think Seifer is one of the keys to Quistis' memory. The sooner we find him and can keep an eye on him, the better things will be in the long run."

"I'll put out the word discreetly."

"Thank you," Elle responded. Taking a deep breath, she continued, "And if he's in the hands of hostile forces, you _might need to negotiate to take custody of him."_

An incredulous, but wry smile spread across her stepfather's face. He knew better than to ask for details when it came to Ellone's powers and her insights to the future. "As you wish, kid. Is that all?" he asked as he stood to take his leave.

"Yes. Thank you."

"At least I can make _one of my children happy," he said softly, giving her a goodnight kiss on the forehead. _

She watched him quietly trudge back to the impressive architecture that served as his current home and then turned her attention to the starry night sky, her eyes filled with tears. 

"Aunt Raine, he makes people happy every day." _And he doesn't know it, but tonight. . . I think he ensured that many more will have the chance that the two of you never had. "Happily ever after, right?"_

==  
**Next chapter: A Shot in the Dark  
(To be posted on September 10, 2002. I know that's later than usual, but I made this chapter a little longer than the rest. That helps doesn't it? Just a little? I hope? ;-) )  
==**

Author's Notes: This week we have some individual notes to the *awesome* people who reviewed the last chapter:

- sabacat & seyenaidni: A huge thanks to two more members of the frequent reviewers club. Your encouragement, especially this far along into the story, really means a lot to me. (Plus it practically guarantees that future chapters will appear – for the most part – speedily.)

- Quistis88: You are *way* too kind. Thank you, again.

- konton: Thanks for a second review in two weeks/chapters. Patience, grasshopper! It's going someplace good. I promise. (But then, the prologue gives away that it will be a happy ending for us Quistis/Seifer fans.)

The next story update will take place on September 10, due to the fact my fiction archive, **projectsurlygirl.com, will be going online next week. ****If you would like me to send you an e-mail when it goes live, drop me a line at   
alison@absolute-0.com. **

I'll always post at Fanfiction.net, but now that I have an archive of my own, you'll have a place to find my stuff even when those pesky technical difficulties happen. See you in about 12 days!

Be sure to check out my site: http://www.absolute-0.com – Where you find what's cool.


	18. Chapter 17 A Shot in the Dark, Part I

Disclaimer: The very talented people at Squaresoft own these characters; I'm just borrowing them for a little bit. Buy their games, and give them your money!

==

**At an Arm's Length. . .  
****A Final Fantasy VIII Story**

**Chapter 17: A Shot in the Dark, Part I**

_It's been about two and a half months since our trip to Centra and the orphanage. I wish I could write that things were different. That I had recovered my memory. That I wasn't still seeing strange things. _

_But I can't. _

_Instead, all I have to show for two and a half months of research (between missions) is a book of fairy tales and legends that describes a mysterious blue light like the one I keep seeing in the mirrors. My anonymous inquiries into Dr. Odine's lab have proven to be dead ends, too. They've never seen or heard of anything like this. _

_Damn it. I'm *not* crazy. God help me. . . but I *am* still seeing these things._

Quistis gasped and threw down her pen when she felt something incredibly cold on the back of her neck. "IRVINE!"

"SHH!" He grinned as he unceremoniously plunked down in the chair next to her and handed her a cold soda. "Thought you could use this."

"Thanks," she replied, opening the can and taking a long-deserved sip of the caffeine-laden beverage. "I really needed this."

"You're welcome."

"You know, we're not supposed to have this in here –"

"Just be quiet and enjoy your soda," he rolled his eyes. "Besides, Zell has the Library Girl occupied. Whatcha' looking up?"

"One of my former students came to me with a question, and I decided to help out." _Please, believe this._

"Oh. . . Well, I'd better get going." _She's not getting anywhere with this research of hers._

"And here I thought you came to keep me company!" Quistis half-laughed, one corner of her mouth turning up impishly.

"Sorry, babe, duty calls." 

"Yeah, BABE."

He looked back to see a smart-alecky smile on her face and lightly tipped his hat in her direction before he started toward the library's exit. _I'm tired of seeing her practically bang her head against the wall. It's not fair._

Before Irvine knew where his feet were taking him, he found himself en route to Matron's office.

*****

"IIIRVYYY!"

He didn't even have time to look in the direction of the yelp, when he was trapped in an all-encompassing bear hug. "Hey, Selphie."

She frowned as she saw the solemn look on his face. "Where are you headed? It looks like it's something serious."

His mouth pressed into an even straighter line. "Yeah. It is. Y'know what we talked about? About Q?"

She nodded.

"She's not finding any answers, and it's tearing her up."

"I know, Irvine. But Matron said –"

His eyes narrowed. "I _know what Matron said, but . . . I don't know. I'm going to talk to her. Maybe things have changed, and it's O.K., now."_

Selphie smiled, a perfect complement of both empathy and affection. This is why she loved her boyfriend so much. "Let's _both go talk to Edea. You're right. Maybe something's changed." __I hope._

Without another word, the two took each other's hands and continued, her skipping to keep up with his long stride, the rest of the way to Edea's.

*****

About an hour later, having plowed through another book on elementals and more things that make other things glow, Quistis stretched, and her eyes fell across the book of children's fairy tales.

She opened it up and looked for its card or a barcode, so she could check it out. _There's not one? She walked slowly to the circulation desk where Zell had the Library Girl in fits of laughter. __Geez, he's *finally* talking to her. I don't want to interrupt, but –_

"Hi, Quistis! Can I help you with something?"

She smiled in return to the girl's question and shot a quick look of "sorry" over at Zell. "Umm, Tara, I'd like to check this out, but it doesn't seem to have a card _or a barcode."_

"Let _me see." Tara took the book from Quistis and proceeded to inspect it thoroughly. "You're right. It doesn't." Her delicate brows furrowed, "Let me check one more thing. . ."_

Quistis and Zell watched as she started typing quickly into the computer. Quistis couldn't help but smile when, out of the corner of her eye, she saw the usually hyperactive fighter staring in awe as his mutual-crush expertly navigated through the library's multiple databases. 

Without realizing he was speaking aloud, he breathlessly whispered, "Isn't she great?"

Quistis turned to him with a warm smile, and he blushed furiously. _Someone's *totally* crushing._

"Quistis? This is the strangest thing," Tara started, completely oblivious to the exchange that had taken place while she was working on her search. "It's not in here."

"You mean it's part of the collection they don't let us check out?"  
  
Tara looked perplexed. "No. I mean we have _no record of this book at all. It's not from this library, and I don't think it's from another library either."_

"Oh." 

The crestfallen look on the former instructor's face was too much for the younger girl. _Quistis Trepe has always been so nice to me. "Wait, don't go yet! Here's what we'll do: You go ahead and take it. I'll make note of it, and in the meantime, I'll work on tracking down its origin."_

The blonde's wary blue eyes blinked, "Are you sure?"

Tara giggled, "_Of course. It's not like we don't know where to find you at any given time, and besides. . . I __love a good mystery."_

Zell piped up, "She does."

"Thank you. I'll check back in a week, then." She gave the pair a grateful smile and ventured back to her dorm with the ancient text in hand.

==                 

**Next chapter: A Shot in the Dark, Part 2  
(To be posted on September 17, 2002.) **

==

Author's Notes: Yay! An update! I didn't initially intend for this to be a two-parter, but I wanted to make this week's update. Thanks, as always for your encouragement and wonderful reviews. (You know who you are!) 

The last couple of chapters have been everyone sneaking around behind Quistis' back. Don't worry: our girl's going to come out whip a'crackin' in the *very* near future. I promise the little details are the important ones.

The new site, **projectsurlygirl.com, took a little longer than I thought it would, so it will be going online next week. ****If you would like me to send you an e-mail when it goes live, drop me a line at alison@absolute-0.com. **

Be sure to check out my site: http://www.absolute-0.com – Where you find what's cool.


	19. Chapter 18 A Shot in the Dark, Part II

Disclaimer: The very talented people at Squaresoft own these characters; I'm just borrowing them for a little bit. Buy their games, and give them your money!

==

**At an Arm's Length. . .  
****A Final Fantasy VIII Story**

**Chapter 18: A Shot in the Dark, Part II**

The clock blinked. 9 p.m. 

_It's still early, Quistis thought hazily as she raised herself into a sitting position. __I was so tired when I got back from the library. . . I can barely think straight._

Stumbling out of bed, she tripped on her briefcase, taking the books she had checked out with her to the cluttered floor.  She grinned ruefully, while reaching blindly toward the small table near her desk. _Thank God I didn't squash my glasses. _

_That's better. She brushed her hair away from her face, adjusted her frames and surveyed the mess. The mysterious book from the library lay open. Shifting slightly, she reached for it and gently caressed its ancient pages as she brought it to her lap._

It had fallen open to the beginning of a story whose title caused her to unconsciously frown, just slightly. _The Blue Fairy. _

_The illustrations show a glow. This seems familiar. . . Maybe it was a story that we heard at the orphanage. Maybe __Irvine__ or Selphie remembers it?_

Now fully awake, she hoisted herself up and headed – for the first time in a long time, with resolve – to find some answers. _Hopefully._

*****

Irvine exhaled in frustration. "But Matron. . ."

"Irvine. Selphie. I know you're both trying to help, but we _can't. No, we __shouldn't force this issue. She'll remember when she's supposed to remember."_

"Matron," Selphie pleaded, on the verge of tears. "Quistis is our best friend, and I know _I would want to know if I were in her place. I'd feel betrayed that everyone knew something vital about me. I'd feel as if they were hiding –"_

_"NO!" Edea said, again, firmly. "I've discussed it with Ellone. It's best this way."_

"But how?" Irvine challenged her.

The former sorceress looked at the young man whose face was now an unreadable mask.

"Matron, we're not suggesting that we tell her outright." He continued calmly, "We want to give her an early birthday gift. It just happens to be one that might jog her memory."

"_Children. We've been through this. I __forbid you to –" Edea halted mid-sentence. _

Selphie and Irvine were staring over her shoulder, wide-eyed at the door and the latecomer to their rather heated discussion. Before she turned around, she heard a soft voice that spoke volumes.

_Of disappointment. Of sadness. Of confusion._

"Why?"

The young woman at the center of their disagreement, one Quistis Trepe, leaned against the door jam as though she thought it would give her strength. The glare of the room's lighting on her glasses prevented them from seeing her eyes. 

Again, the quiet voice questioned, "Why? Why. . . didn't you tell me?"

The book she had been cradling in her left arm crashed to the floor, but she was still clutching what looked to be a faded photograph.

The tears that had been threatening to fall from Selphie's eyes for the last hour and a half started to roll with abandon down her cheeks when she realized what Quistis was holding. _It was on my desk. . . for safekeeping until her birthday. . . Oh, Hyne. I'm sorry, Quistis._

Irvine's hand found its way to Selphie's, his fingers lacing through hers. He turned slowly to Matron. _How are you going to explain this now?_

Before the older woman had a chance, Quistis was gone.

_Without histrionics, or even a sob. She's gone. Edea turned to face the accusatory eyes of the children she raised.  __In a moment, they will be gone, too._

As Irvine picked up Quistis' forgotten book, he looked at her sorrowfully. "This is what I was afraid would happen." Selphie squeezed his hand, and he turned to leave, gently closing the door to Edea's office behind them. 

Irvine's blue eyes met Selphie's green ones briefly, before he pulled her into an embrace and leaned in at an odd angle to bury his face in her comforting shoulder. "If only we had been allowed to give it a shot. . ."

==                  
**Next chapter: Ghost of a Chance  
(To be posted on September 24 or 25, 2002.)  
==**

Author's Notes: Another shortie, but the next chapter covers a lot of ground, so be prepared. 

A big thanks to those who reviewed last chapter, including the awesome Quistis88 and setaobsessed. AW, your review eased my mind: I was starting to wonder if maybe I was pacing it a little too slowly. (But, as a reader, I hate it when I can figure everything out right away and when characters' personalities change overnight without a good reason.)

Expect a lot of Quistis-angst in the next chapter, and don't worry, our favorite blond anti-hero is not being neglected.

The new site, **projectsurlygirl.com, is going online at the end of this week. ****If you would like me to send you an e-mail when it goes live, drop me a line at alison@absolute-0.com. **

Be sure to check out my site: http://www.absolute-0.com – Where you find what's cool.


	20. Chapter 19 Ghost of a Chance

Disclaimer: The very talented people at Squaresoft own these characters; I'm just borrowing them for a little bit. Buy their games, and give them your money!

==

**At an Arm's Length. . .  
****A Final Fantasy VIII Story**

**Chapter 19: Ghost of a Chance**

_I don't believe in destiny | Or the guiding hand of fate  
__I don't believe in forever | Or love as a mystical state  
__I don't believe in the stars or the planets  
__Or angels watching from above_

*****

Book in hand, Quistis hurriedly walked down the hallway to Selphie's room. She couldn't get the title of the fairy tale, or legend or _whatever – she grinned to herself – out of her mind. '__The Blue Fairy.'  Where have I heard of this? Oh, well. Maybe *they'll* remember it, since I can't seem to._

As she turned the corner, she unconsciously slowed down: the hallway in which Selphie resided was usually abuzz with activity, practically 24-7, and to keep going at her current pace would mean running over some cadet or another. But today. . . _The hallway is empty? _

Instinctively, her eyes narrowed, and she tucked a strand of hair that had escaped her sloppy ponytail behind her ear. Her pace slowed even more, as she looked at her watch. _It's only __9:15__, curfew's not for more than an hour._

Quistis reached her friend's loudly decorated door. _Her "IN" sign is up, *this* is a good sign, she thought as she moved to knock. She didn't have to. The door inched open slowly. "Selphie?"_

"Selphie?" She cautiously poked her head into the room. _This isn't like her. "Selphie? Are you in here?" __Of course, she isn't dummy. She'd have answered by now if she were here, she berated herself and let herself in. "I'll just wait here until she gets back," she said aloud in her brightest voice. "She can't have gone__ too far."_

The unnatural quiet that had fallen upon the whole dorm was starting to get to her, so she moved toward Selphie's desk, which happened to house the room's only source of light, a small tabletop lamp. Quistis seated herself and proceeded to stare vacantly out the open window.

The moonlight illuminated the grasslands just outside Balamb, giving them an otherworldly quality that seemed so. . . familiar. She moved, partially out of the chair to get a better look, when a seasonal gust of wind burst into the room gently shuffling the multitude of papers scattered over the younger SeeD's workspace. 

Quistis sighed softly, as she knelt down to pick up the papers scattered throughout the small living quarters and return them to their place. The light on Selphie's desk flickered off for the briefest of seconds and flicked on to illuminate a small snapshot that had, moments before, been buried beneath a mountain of SeeD paperwork.

Her eyes widened, and her heart felt as if something were squeezing it. It was a picture of her as a child at the orphanage. Before she was sent to the foster family that hovered on the very edges of her memory. Before she enrolled at Garden.

Her fingers traced its edge delicately, as if it could turn to dust. _I must be about seven. And so must –_

*****

_Seifer._

Quistis viciously raked her free hand through what was left of her ponytail as she battled her way through all of the monsters who dared to cross her path to the Training Center's most secret of secret places. Her Save the Queen crackled with an almost electric quality, killing grat after grat with such ferocity that the T-Rexes that normally stalked trainees simply stayed away.

By the time she reached her destination, she couldn't distinguish the beads of sweat from the tears that ran down her face. She closed the door that led to the balcony and fastened her whip around the doorknob as a special precaution. _Selphie and __Irvine__ are probably turning Garden upside down looking for me. I don't care._

"I don't care," she practically sobbed, sinking down in a spot illuminated by late September's full moon. After pulling her hands into the sleeves of her sweatshirt to dry them, she reached into its interior pocket to pull out the photo. 

It looked as if it had been staged by a photographer, but a little bit of a thumb intruding on its lower right-hand corner gave away its origin as a snapshot. Two, tow-headed children silhouetted in the incomparable light that precedes sunset. Playing and unaware of the unblinking eye that recorded their actions for posterity, they were smiling. . . as if sharing a conspiratorial secret. 

_Why didn't I remember?_

Their faces tilted toward each other with a closeness that only hinted at their familiarity. _Best friends. She had been reaching to brush dandelion fuzz out of his hair when his hand grasped hers gently, and Quistis noted that the girl was wearing a small sapphire and diamond ring. _

Quistis fingered the necklace and cross she was wearing – the one that she had found in the cave. _He was who left it for me, she thought as she struggled to see clearly through the tears that insisted upon brimming again. __The necklace. The little boy was wearing the necklace that she was wearing today. The little boy was. . . is. . . Seifer._

_And I didn't recognize him. . . When he came to Garden, I didn't recognize him. He always looked at me with such. . . expectation. Oh, dear God, she looked skyward, tears spilling across her patrician features. Her face contorted painfully, in horror at a sudden realization: __Hyne. Whoever's up there? At least, in the beginning, he remembered._

*****

"Quistis!"

"Q!"

Selphie ran breathlessly around the corner, only to run into her boyfriend's chest. "Oh, God! Irvine! Where could she be?" The worry and fear that had started in her stomach rapidly rose into her throat, choking her, "Where could she be?"

He pulled her close, enveloping her in an embrace so absolute that it caused her to exhale suddenly.

They stood there for a few moments in silence collecting their thoughts, when Irvine moved away suddenly. "That's it!"

"Did you think of someplace we haven't checked?"  
  


He nodded enthusiastically. "Yup! Think of Garden's exterior. . . there's an extra balcony to the left of the 'secret place.' If anyone knows how to get there –"

"It's Quistis!" she answered solemnly. "Let's hurry. She didn't look so hot, and that was four hours ago."

*****

Finding the path to the hidden door would have taken a long time under normal circumstances, but tonight, for some reason, the Training Center's humidity sensors were off the charts. _It's strange, this normally makes most of these critters sluggish, but it's as if someone came in here and stirred them up, Irvine thought, remembering the T-Rex that had charged upon them when they entered the facility. __Most unusual._

"YES!"

He looked up at Selphie's shout. He looked at his watch. It was a little past 2 a.m.

The petite girl had already tried her master keycard to no avail and was attempting to manually force the door open as he finally joined her. "Quistis?"

"Quistis, please open the door," Selphie pleaded, banging on the door. "Quistis?!"

"Quistis! We know you're in there, open up," Irvine commanded calmly. "If you're not going to open the door, then we're coming in." The look in his eye caused Selphie to step back. 

_I know what's next._

He moved so he faced the door at an angle and raised Exeter. She covered her ears. And a shot was fired. 

Still no sounds of movement on the other side. They were going in.

The couple burst through the entryway to find their friend lying, curled-up and motionless, at the far end of the balcony. She was clutching the photograph. 

*****

It was morning. She knew it was because she could see the light even before she opened her eyes. And she wasn't in her room, either. A cowboy hat mounted on the wall signaled that she had somehow ended up in Irvine's room, even before her gaze fell on the marksman and the messenger girl sleeping uncomfortably upright in the recliner-style chairs that flanked the couch where she must have spent at least part of the last night. Any hopes she may have had for a quiet escape were dashed when a half-open blue eye met her's.

"Don't even think about," a weary voice uttered. "At least, not until Selphie sees you. She – _we were both worried about you. Neither Selphie or I wanted you to find out this way."_

Her own small voice answered, "Wh- Why? Didn't you tell me?"

"Edea. . . Matron. She was sure you'd remember on your own in time. . . that this was all for a reason." He sat fully upright. "Hyne, I'm sorry. Both of us are."

"I know. . . I was just in shock. I –", a look of immeasurable sadness crept into her eyes, causing them to darken, before she buried her face in two shaking hands. "I. . . I didn't remember him, but I think he – _he remembered me!"_

Irvine's eyes darted toward Selphie and received a reassuring nod in return. He then moved to the couch, gently placing his arms around Quistis in a hug. Selphie sat down on her other side and hugged her two best friends in all the world. 

In frustration, the brunette sighed. _All we can do is let her cry._

*****

Two days later, Quistis Trepe – who never fidgeted – stood fidgeting outside Cid's office. She knew what this was about: she had placed her name on the active duty roster. She wanted out of Garden. . .  a short furlough from everyone who knew her, a situation where she could bury herself in work and not think.

_I think too much._

The door to the Headmaster's office opened suddenly, and she scrambled to stand at attention.

"Good morning, Quistis," Cid greeted her in his customary brisk manner.

"Good morning, sir."

He motioned toward his office, and she followed him in. "So what is this I hear about you requesting a long-term mission?" He seated himself and nodded for her to do the same.

"Well. . . sir. I haven't been on a long-term assignment since before the War, and. . ." she gave him a winning smile,  "quite frankly, I felt the challenge would do me some good. . ." _Please just once, let this go my way._

"Agreed. And I have just the mission for you." 

Her blue eyes flashed in surprise, and then narrowed. _This was *way* too easy._

"Actually, you were requested specifically. . ."

She shifted toward the edge of her seat.

". . . by the President of Esthar."

"Sir, with no disrespect, if this is a babysitting assignment or some ruse concocted by Ellone or Matron to observe me like some kind of . . ."

"You'd have no part in it," Cid finished for her. "I agree with you, and I'd back you up if it were only the case." He spread the contents of a file folder across the desk. "Take a look."

She picked up page after page in shock. "Incident reports?" 

"Yes. They've been having some serious security breaches, and in light of the assassination attempt you and Irvine foiled earlier in the year, they've got reason to be paranoid."

She frowned over the top of her glasses at him, "And nobody _else is security certified? You know I'm trying to move out of that sector and into diplomacy."_

"But there's no one more qualified than you," Cid grinned. "I'm not being mean. I'm paying you a compliment. And so is President Loire."

He proceeded to gather the papers and place them back in the folder. "Besides, part of your mission is to beef up their security without anyone on the outside finding out. With your personal ties to his step-daughter, no one will think it strange that you take up residence there for three months. You depart from Garden at 3 p.m. tomorrow."

They both stood and shook hands, and Quistis left the office with a dazed look of disbelief on her face.

*****

A little more than 24 hours later, Quistis was making her way through the train's dining car back to the SeeD cabin. Every few steps the modern, high-speed contraption stopped at one of the many stations on the way to Esthar's governmental quarter.

_Another hour and a half, she sighed, pulling out the photograph of her and Seifer. She smiled to herself. __Selphie was so relieved that I wasn't mad about everything. I was never mad. I was just. . . thrown._

Even so, she didn't stop to check-in with Edea before she left, and she didn't know where to begin when she saw Ellone. _They both knew. I'm not mad. _

_No. That's a lie. I'm mad at myself for not remembering sooner. She fingered the pendant that adorned her graceful neck._

The PA came on, announcing her stop. _No time for being melancholy now. I've got a job to do._

*****

Two days into her stay the blond SeeD was in one of her morning briefings with Kiros, when Ellone and _Selphie – of all people? – burst into the conference room._

"Happy Birthday to YOU!!" They sang gleefully. 

 "What a bad girl, _you're not supposed to work on your birthday," the head of security said with a wink, as he managed to gather his papers and head for the door in a fell swoop. "I'm just going to have to report you to Estella."_

Selphie nudged Ellone. "Who's Estella?" she whispered.

"His wife," replied Elle as she turned to look at her stunned little sister. "Surprise?"

*****

_I should have known *all* of this was coming, Quistis thought to herself as she surveyed the crowded ballroom, later that evening. __I got off way to easily last year, and Selphie didn't throw a fit when she found out about my assignment. Of course. . .  that's because she had a backup plan. She smiled at Ellone, who danced by on the arm of a rather handsome officer from Ward's army regiment. _

Even surrounded by the throngs of people, she stood out. Her hair was half-up, half-down, and the portion that cascaded over her shoulders and down her back contrasted attractively with the deeper gold shade of her elegant, column-cut cocktail gown.

She circled the room's perimeter, partly out of habit, and considered each of her friends from Garden. They had all made the trip to be there for her. Not even ten minutes into the party, Zell and Tara bounded up to her, in part to excitedly report that the trail to the book's origin was rather convoluted. Squall, thanks to Rinoa's gentle prodding, came despite the fact he still had a hard time facing his father. 

She giggled to herself as she saw Irvine pretend to almost drop Selphie as he "dipped" her on the dance floor. Even Xu and Nida made it. _But there's still one person missing. _

Quistis shook her head as if to clear it and grinned as she saw some of her new acquaintances. Estella, in particular, caught her eye, and enthusiastically raised her glass as she passed by. "You're getting _our gift later," the olive-skinned woman shouted above the din, lightly punching Kiros for effect. He played injured and pouted. __Definitely a match of equals, Quistis smirked._

The cake had already been cut and several guests had already stopped her to present her with gifts, but at 11:00 p.m., the bash showed no signs of slowing down. She made a pit stop by the bar and helped herself to another glass of champagne, and then quietly slipped out to a deserted balcony just off of the ballroom, itself.

Laguna Loire's leg was starting to cramp up, so when another fast song came on, he took the opportunity to rest, inconspicuously, at a table near the band. He was waiting for the attendant to bring him another drink when he was tapped on the shoulder.

 "President Loire, Sir?"

"Kinneas, that you?" Laguna groaned. _Yep it is, the younger man had abandoned his normal attire in favor of a tux and a black cowboy hat._

"Yes, sir."

"Call me Laguna. You're making me feel old."

"Yes, sir. Have you seen the golden girl recently?"

The fortyish gentleman grinned, "Quistis? Not recently. . . why?"

"Well, like half of the guys in Kiros' squad want to dance with her at midnight," he threw up his hands, "_Don't ask me. And Selphie's in the process of screening them. . ."_

"I'll look for her, but I'll also give her a chance to avoid being thrown to those wolves."

"Thank you, sir."

Laguna rolled his eyes. He didn't even have to think about where he would go, if he were her. He _knew where he always went to escape during functions like this._

Sure enough, when he snuck out of the party and onto the balcony, she was there, looking out at the skies above his garden. Irvine's description couldn't have been more accurate. She looked like one of the stylized portraits of famous movie stars that had been so popular during his youth.

He didn't want to startle her, so he cleared his throat rather loudly before he approached her hiding place. Laguna started brightly, "My men are starting to wonder where the most beautiful girl at the ball has escaped to."

"Rinoa? She was dancing with Squall, the last time I saw her," she answered.

The fatherly man frowned and his heart broke into a million pieces as he stared at her in shock. There was no obnoxious smirk on her visage and no sense of irony in her tone. _She really doesn't *realize*. . . she doesn't think of herself in that way or think others. . . A lump formed in his throat, but he pressed on._

"It's a shame that our city lights prevent us from really seeing the stars here," he sighed.

"But your garden makes up for it," she turned to him and smiled.

_But it's a sad smile, he thought. __It doesn't travel up to your eyes. He continued to look at her as she watched the animal residents of the garden scamper in the shadows created by the topiaries and hedges._

He had only known gotten to know her in the last few days but had already come to the conclusion that she was an extraordinary girl who was going to become a remarkable woman. . . _if she gives herself a little more credit and half a chance._

When it came to work, she was the consummate professional. Confident, collected and charismatic. People just seemed to want to do things for her.

_But *she* doesn't think she's deserving. She's one of the most beautiful people I've ever met, inside or out. What Raine and I had hoped an eventual little sister to Ellone would become. . ._

"Quistis?"

"Yes, sir." Her attention shifted from the scene in the distance to the gentleman with whom she shared the balcony. 

"Pardon, my asking, but which birthday is this for you?"

"Twenty-one," she answered quickly.

"You don't look a day over eighteen," he chuckled. "Don't grimace at me. You'll take that as a compliment someday. I just realized that I hadn't given you _my gift, that's all. I was wondering what passes for a successful birthday gift among twenty-one-year-olds, these days."_

"Sir –"

"Laguna," he corrected her. 

"Laguna, you've already done so much, the party and. . ."

"That's not what I mean, kiddo." He continued, "If you could have anything in the world, what would you wish for? If you could do whatever you wanted, what would you do?"

Her long-lashes blinked in confusion. "That's a hard question to answer. . . on the spot, I mean."

"Take your time. Think about it. We're not in a hurry here."

Some long moments passed. And he noticed her manicured nails playing with the delicate chain she wore as a necklace. "There's not really anything."

"Quistis," he sighed. "The wheels in your brain are turning too quickly for you not to be thinking of anything. Seriously, if you could do anything? See anyone?" He noticed her face flush and tears well slightly in her eyes.

"Here, here." He pulled out a clean handkerchief and handed it to her. "Tell Uncle Laguna."

She gave him a funny look through her tears. "Uncle Laguna?"

"I _almost got a smile from you. Now tell me."_

She inhaled sharply, "I don't know what Elle's told you about my past. . . I mean, everyone else seems to know more about it than I do. But I think I may have really hurt someone – _repeatedly – and I didn't realize it or mean to do it, but . . . I think I did."_

"Who was he?" Laguna prodded gently.

"Seifer."

He looked at her. _No one this young should carry such a burden._

"I didn't remember him when we came to Garden, but he _did remember me. I'm almost sure of it. He didn't understand why I was doing this to him, and I didn't understand why he acted the way he did because I didn't know."_

She was working herself up. "But you were a child, yourself, Quistis."

Her chin jutted up and her eyes darted to the side in a vain attempt to prevent a total break down. "But during the war I hurt him again. . ."

"Quistis, you can't blame yourself. . ."

"He was possessed, and I ran into him, and he caught me off guard. He sneered at me, and I –" By now she was quietly sobbing. "He looked at me for a split second, totally lucid and threw down his sword and ran away."

"Quistis."

The concerned look on her elder companion's face caused her to involuntarily take a deep breath and compose herself. "I'm sorry. I never answered your question."

Laguna nodded.

"If I . . . could do anything. . . I'd apologize to Seifer," she finally said in a strained, but low voice.

Laguna smiled warmly, yet sadly, as he embraced the youngster. "I'll do everything in my power to give you that chance."

She pulled away slightly and looked at him as if he were joking. "What do you mean?"

"I'll do everything in my power to give you that chance. It might not happen right away, but I'm pretty persistent."

"Sir, that's too much."

A sparkle appeared in his eye and the corners of his mouth twitched up slightly. "But you've got to promise me to do two things on your own."

She tilted her head.

"One: Be the best Quistis Trepe that you can be. I _don't mean maintaining your image. I mean being the strong, funny, smart and dazzling person and great friend that__ I know you can be. Life's too precious and short to worry about things you can't change. You need to trust that somehow. . . things will work themselves out. And two," he pulled a small, translucent pouch tied with ribbons and tossed it to her._

She looked at him questioningly. "Daffodil seeds?"

"Elle mentioned you liked them," he smiled. "If you ever decide to leave SeeD, please consider putting down roots here, so to speak."

"Thank you," she whispered in awe.

He placed one hand on each of her shoulders. "You and I are more alike than you probably will ever realize. Now, it's getting cold, and it's getting late."

She half-laughed as she attempted to clear her face of the tears she had shed. "Oh, dear."

"I'll let you in on a secret, if you don't want to go in through the ballroom, you can use that staircase, it'll take you to the hallway where your suite is. I can make your excuses for you."

Gratefully, she thanked him and started toward the far end of the patio.

"And Quistis?"

She turned around.

"We're family. This is _our secret."_

She grinned. It was the first real smile he had seen from her. "Thank you."

He watched her trot off and stood for a few moments before he picked up her abandoned glass of champagne.

_It's flat. He took a sip anyway and looked toward the sky. He didn't know quite why, but he felt protective of Quistis – as if she was as much his daughter as Elle was. "Raine, she's in love with the bastard. She doesn't know she is, but she is." He finished off the glass. "He's trouble, but I want to fix things for her. Is that the right thing to do?"_

Just then a small, cyclonic gust of wind swept across the balcony depositing a selection of brightly colored autumn leaves at Laguna's feet. He bent down, with a little difficulty, and picked up what appeared to be a few petals from flowers that were mixed in the pile. 

They looked like the flowers that Raine used to grow in her garden in Winhill. He smiled up to the sky again and whispered, "You always _were the romantic, weren't you?"_

_But I believe there's a ghost of a chance  
__We can find someone to love  
__And make it last_

==                  
**Next chapter: To Be Announced  
(To be posted sometime next week when I get back from Anime Weekend Atlanta. More likely Wednesday, October 2 than Tuesday, October 1.)  
==**

Author's Notes: The song lyrics opening and closing this chapter were written by Neil Peart of the band Rush, who featured this song, "Ghost of a Chance" on their 1991 album _Roll the Bones_. (Good album. Pick it up if you like good rock.)

I'm not sure when I'll be posting next week, so I made this chapter good and long!

A massive thanks to those who reviewed the last round: star112, setaobsessed, AWf4tf and Quistis88. It means so much to me that ya'll are still around and reviewing. (This is the longest fictional work I've *ever* written. . . I am amazed that people have liked it enough to read so many chapters. . . and there are so many to go! ;-) )

The new site, **projectsurlygirl.com, is going online at the end of this week. ****If you would like me to send you an e-mail when it goes live, drop me a line at alison@absolute-0.com. **

Be sure to check out my site: http://www.absolute-0.com – Where you find what's cool.


	21. Chapter 20 Push It

Disclaimer: The very talented people at Squaresoft own these characters; I'm just borrowing them for a little bit. Buy their games, and give them your money!

==

**At an Arm's Length. . .  
****A Final Fantasy VIII Story**

**Chapter 20: Push It**

_I don't remember too much about my early years at Garden – big surprise there – but the fall I turned fourteen, they moved me in with Xu. She was bossy. I was bossy. But we got along surprisingly well, despite the fact we were in competition with each other in class. _

_"Fake it 'til you make it." That's what she always used to say. It's become my mantra since the little talk I had with Laguna on my birthday. _

_He hasn't mentioned it since then, so I haven't mentioned it. But I've tried to keep my promise._

_Honestly, I don't know exactly *how* to keep my promise. Maybe if I pretend, maybe…_

_Maybe some people just don't know how to be happy. And never will. I don't want to be like that._

_Correction: I *desperately* don't want to be like that. _

_So I work until I practically drop. (Unfortunately for the secret service agents, I also work *them* until they practically drop. It's good for them in the long run, so it's O.K., right?) I let Ellone drag me downtown to go shopping for a dress for tonight's gathering and let Estella do my hair and give me "how to seduce a man" advice that I'll probably never use. It makes them happy, and that makes me happy. I think that's enough for right now._

_I don't even know if I make any sense. What makes even less sense are the dreams I've been having and the memories that have yet to surface. From a psychological perspective, it is understandable that I'd dream about Seifer, considering how close everyone says we were, but why can't I remember my childhood with him? Why do some dreams feature an older-looking Seifer? I haven't seen him since…_

_Time Compression. I don't think that encounter was a dream. _

_Is he sorry? I am. I'm sorry I couldn't hold on, be just a little stronger. For each of our sakes._

_Wherever he is, I hope he's all right._

_-- Quistis Trepe  
December 31, XXXX_

****

_This is the noise that keeps me awake  
__My head explodes and my body aches  
__But don't worry baby  
__We'll be alright._

_                      -- Garbage_

==                  
**Next update! ****Tuesday, December 3, 2002  
==**

Author's Notes: I know it's been quite a while but paying the bills had to take priority, so that's what I've been writing for the last couple of months. (Yikes! Sorry! ;-) )  You can read gory details from the month of October at my main site.

This chapter is just a brief interlude to reassure the very nice people who have left reviews and e-mailed me that I'm ramping up another nice fat chapter like "Ghost of a Chance" to restart the weekly updates. 

Without further ado, I'd like to thank the wonderful, fantastic (and very patient) reviewers!

- sabacat: One of the people who keeps me on my toes, thanks for sticking with me.

- setaobsessed: Two reviews for one chapter… you rock.

- Ianjohn: Happy birthday (really late). Thanks for the kind words

- AWf4tf: How did you know it was going to be another 20 chapters? You must be reading my mind! ^_^ Seriously, this will run however many chapters it takes to do it right. The last few have been rather Quistis-centric. It's Seifer's turn. Very soon.

- Quistis88: Another early adopter. I'm sorry I haven't been able to update earlier than this. Your support means so much to me.

- Amerie: Don't worry. It may take me a while, but I've never abandoned a creative project yet. (December 3!!)

- Jinkazama180: I'm honored. And much more is on the way.

- QuistisTrepe1402: If you like what you've read so far, you're really going to like what's planned. (I'm obnoxious, and I've been maintaining the outline from hell. It's quite a few chapters ahead of where the story is now.)

- Rose: Thank you. I decided to add this little bit because I got the message. ;-) Rest assured: more is on the way. I needed to re-charge.

If ya'll get a chance, check out my sites:

- Absolute-0.com: Anime, manga, movie and music reviews (plus my professional portfolio)

- ProjectSurlyGirl.com: My fiction site; it has my current and ongoing stories archived and starting in March, I'll have an original work, as well.

I'll post – without fail – on Tuesday, Dec. 3. Talk to ya'll then!


	22. Chapter 21 Black

Disclaimer: The very talented people at Squaresoft own these characters; I'm just borrowing them for a little bit. Buy their games, and give them your money!

==

**At an Arm's Length. . .  
****A Final Fantasy VIII Story**

**Chapter 21: Black**

At the whistle's signal, the train lurched forward suddenly, propelling Quistis further into the plush seat of the official SeeD cabin. The corners of her mouth twitched slightly as she remembered her departure, yesterday, from Esthar. 

Everyone, from Laguna and Kiros to Ellone, Estella and the newly established Estharian Secret Service chapter of the Trepies (_groan!) had shown up to see her off. __Oh! I forgot to open the package 'Stella gave me. _

She reached into her briefcase and pulled out a small gift-wrapped package with a card attached. "_Hope your Valentine's Day is 'lucky.'" Oh, Hyne. She's more worried about my social life than I'll ever be, Quistis grimaced to herself, and she opened the box to reveal a small vial of the trendiest new, pheromone-enhanced perfume. _

The door's lock jiggled, quietly, and Quistis struggled, but didn't quite succeed, in cramming the package – wrapping paper and all – back into her carry-on before Irvine ambled lazily into the cabin.

"That stuff works, y'know," he stated nonchalantly, before flopping down on the seat across from her.

She raised her head to face him, but her eyes stopped mid-roll when she caught her traveling companion's unusual expression. "What you looking at?"

"You."

"Why?"

"Why'd you do it?" He asked, reaching over to touch the loosely curled strands of blond hair that just brushed the upright collar of her SeeD uniform.

Quistis' confident façade faltered slightly before she looked him in the eye and answered, quietly, but deliberately. "I decided it was time for a change." _Time to keep some promises._

"A baby step?"

She grinned slightly. "A baby step."

The cowboy flicked up the brim of his hat and smiled broadly. "Then you'll have to let 'Irvine the Matchmaker' set you up when we get to Deling so you can see for yourself how well that perfume works."

"Irvine the Matchmaker? Does _Selphie know about these activities?" she teased._

He crowed, "Hell, Selphie _encourages these activities, __particularly where you're concerned!"_

Quistis burst out laughing. "I'm thinking I'm glad for everyone's sanity that this gig will be over well before Valentine's. I don't want to deal with you two as we get closer to that day."

She leaned back into her recliner and looked at her watch. "You know, we'd better rest while we can. This summit is focusing on Galbadian war reparations, so we can pretty much guarantee that there will be some kind of trouble."

"Personally, I don't think that will be the biggest topic of discussion," Irvine mused, settling himself under his travel blanket. "You did know that Laguna is proposing they pardon Seifer Almasy for his war crimes."

"Hmmhm. In absentia," she murmured, as she turned out the overhead light. 

"What do you think about that?"

"Well . . .  It makes sense, given that they pardoned Edea. . ."

"No, Quistis," he interrupted evenly. "I mean, what do _you think?" _

He heard a soft sigh, followed by a brief silence.

Quistis gently bit her lip, "I … They're making the right decision . . . I just hope that – " 

"He hasn't done anything to himself, or that someone else hasn't done it for him, yet?"

"Yes." She turned her head just a shade so she was facing the window rather than Irvine.

"Me, too. Have you had much more luck with your memory?"

The unexpected answer, followed by such an unexpected question, was too much for her to play cool, and she sat upright, rubbing her eyes to head off unshed tears. "Not much. Just little bits here and there," she responded, attempting to at least _sound casual._

"Well, since most other people won't tell you this, I will," Irvine began, and she moved a little closer to the edge of her seat. "The Almasy I remember could be a brat, a bully and a pain in the ass – often in quick succession – but Quistis, he wasn't a bad guy at heart. Y'know how _I know this?"_

She responded with a slight shake of her head.

"He was always loyal to Matron, but he _loved you. Even then, as a kid, he'd have followed either of you through the depths of hell, if he thought there was a just a chance he could protect you." He reached over and squeezed her hand. "Unfortunately, he ended up doing just that. . . But even when he was under the sorceress's spell, he couldn't strike the final blow against you."_

Quistis' gaze dropped to her and Irvine's clasped hands. She whispered, "You were there?" Without looking up, she could tell he was nodding to the affirmative. "Did you hear what I said to him?"

"No, but I can tell you what I saw."

_What you saw? "What you __saw?"_

Her confusion made something painfully apparent to the sharpshooter. _She didn't see it happen. God in heaven. She didn't see what was happening *around* her. Around *him.*_

"I was covering you – remember? – in the caves or passage ways, or whatever, in Lunatic Pandora, looking for him. Well, you got pretty far ahead of me, and you had been battling him for quite some time when I finally got there. . ."

_We fought and fought. I was low on magic and had been hurt during previous encounters, so I was worn out, and eventually, he knocked Save the Queen away from me._

"Quistis, you had been knocked to the ground, and he was standing over you with his gunblade drawn. I raised Exeter as he pulled back to strike, but before I could squeeze the trigger, you were both surrounded by a blue light. Neither of you seemed to notice and continued talking. I couldn't hear what you and he were saying."

_"So, Instructor. . . am I still your favorite student?"_

_*I hate being weak in front of Almasy. Hate. It.* _

_"You *were* my favorite," I choked out, softly, almost to myself. "Not any more."_

_My eyes widened, and I looked up at him. The gleam of the gunblade. . ._

"Instead of striking you, he dropped it. It was like I was watching a video tape being played in slow motion. He dropped his gunblade and stared at you," Irvine said solemnly. He gave her hand another squeeze. "For a split second, Seifer – the Seifer we knew, not the monster created by Adel and Sorceress Edea – Seifer was back." 

"Irvine, I said something so horrible to him. . ."

"But he couldn't kill you. He didn't want to. It was his will crashing through all of their brainwashing, and he _wouldn't kill you."  __If I weren't holding your hand, I wouldn't know you are shaking, Irvine thought has he moved across the small aisle to sit next to her and drape his blanket around her narrow shoulders._

"I ran into him, in Time Compression," she shuddered. "He apologized to me, but I never. . ."

"Quis, I think he knows. Wherever he is. . . he knows," Irvine said softly, as he gently tapped her head into a resting position on his shoulder and fluffed her new, shorter 'do in a brotherly fashion.

*****

"All SeeD personnel at attention. Please respond to the affirmative, if you've reached your post and fully checked in."

Irvine smirked to himself as he peered down at his commanding officer from his hiding place on the parapet. _You have to hand it to Quistis: If Selphie and I weren't her best friends, we'd never know that she had so much personal stuff going on._

"Tilmitt?"

"Check!" He heard his girlfriend's voice answer.

Quistis continued her brusque roll call and, as was customary, reached his name last. "Kinneas?"

He quickly surveyed the now-empty room and tested his ability to adjust Exeter's position one last time. "Check."

"All right," answered the disembodied voice in his earpiece. "This is perhaps the most critical day of the summit, since President Loire is planning to call for a vote on the proposal to pardon Seifer Almasy. It should go without saying: Be on highest alert at all times, and do not let your personal feelings affect your ability to do your job as a SeeD. Commence radio silence, unless you are talking to me. Over and out."

The assembly room's ancient clock started ringing. . . it was 10 p.m. "Open the front doors." By the tenth chime, the room was full, and Quistis had given the command to lock down the entryway. Irvine loosened the stiff collar of his uniform and drummed his fingers on the overhang's wooden trim, high above the podium where Laguna Loire was to call for the controversial vote.

"Kinneas? How do we look?"

"Fine so far, Trepe. Give me just one more second, before you give the signal." His eagle-sharp eyes now surveyed the crowded chamber. "Nothing obvious. Crane? Shepherd?"

"Yes, sir," answered his subordinate marksmen, from their opposite, triangular points.

"We clear?"

"Yes, sir." "Yes, sir."

"It's showtime, Trepe."

She scanned the tension-fraught room one last time herself, before giving the command to Kiros' men. "President Loire may make his entrance at any time."

Esthar's secret service flanked the former journalist as he took the stage and made his way to the lectern.

_Without a hitch. Kinneas lightly knocked on wood, when something metallic flashed in the crowd below and opposite him. "Trepe. On the main floor, 2 o'clock, fourth row from the back, third seat from the outside aisle."_

"On it." 

He saw plainclothes SeeD quietly make their way to surround the stranger in question. He blinked when he saw movement in the citizen's gallery directly across from him. He shifted Exeter, training it on the area. 

"Trepe, we've got a live one. I'm taking aim. Twelve o'clock, citizen's balcony."

"Squad two, surround the suspect at that location immediately." 

"Crane, Shepherd, keep an eye on the crowd below," Irvine continued. "Aw, _shit, he's drawing." He quickly fired a stun round at the suspect, and a ruckus developed on the side of the room opposite from where the first suspect was located. _

Simultaneously, SeeD moved to block all of the room's exits and armed security surrounded Laguna.

_And he's on the run! Irvine cocked his rifle, this time loaded with real bullets, and prepared to abandon his position as soon as Esthar's secret service gave their clear._

"Loire secure."

Quistis' voice came on line, "Hold until I've closed in on him. The hallway he's trying to reach is a dead end. Let him into it, and we'll corner him without civilians in the line of fire. Exit A-2, let him out, NOW!"

She followed close on the third suspect's heels, and Irvine vaulted down from his perch to cover her with his long-range sites enabled. She scrambled expertly through the twisting passageway, until the footsteps of her prey ceased.

"Kinneas. I don't hear him running anymore."

"Hold up. I'm right behind you. I'm enabling my night vision."

"The dead end is just around the corner. I'll wait."

In the dim light, Quistis leaned against the wall, tightened her grip on Save the Queen and allowed her eyes to adjust to the darker scenery. She heard a shuffle along the opposite wall and caught a dull flash of blue light. _Seifer?!_

"Quistis! To your right! QUISTIS!"

*****

Seifer bolted out of his bed at the sound of frantic pounding on his door. Before he could reach it, Rai and Fu burst in.

"SEIFER!"

"Seifer! You O.K., man?"

"YELLING!"

He looked down at his hands and realized they were shaking – _adrenaline –  and collapsed on a chair by his kitchen table, his head in his hands. __I don't think this was a dream. I need to know why. *I need to know if she's O.K.*_

He heard someone running the tap and felt gentle hands place a cool cloth lightly about his neck before his two friends quietly left the room. A few minutes later, he did the same. He felt an irresistible need to see the night sky. It always calmed him. It was one of the few things he still shared with the rest of humanity.

But tonight, the sky was black.

_I know someday you'll have a beautiful life  
__I know you'll be a star \ In somebody else's sky  
__Why? \ Why? \ Why can't it be mine?_

_                      -- Pearl Jam (Lyrics by Eddie Vedder)_

==                  
**Next chapter: Same bat time, same bat channel on December 10.  
==**

Author's Notes: Was that enough action for you? (Or more specifically, was that enough "Seifer" action for you?) 

Some additional credits for this chapter: The song _"Black" was recorded by Pearl Jam and is on their debut album __Ten, circa 1991. It's one of the great angsty rock songs of all time, so crank it up._

Thanks for sticking with me and my little story for so long. A special thanks goes out to Rose, Quistis88 (who has a rather nice story running now) and setobsessed for reviewing last chapter.

If you're still reading, please hit the review button. This baby is well on track to reach its finish, but it gives me _even more incentive to keep up with the planned, weekly release schedule. Especially during the holidays. ;-)_

Thanks, again! (And be sure to check out my sites if you get a chance.)  
- Absolute-0.com: Anime, manga, movie and music reviews (plus my professional portfolio)  
- ProjectSurlyGirl.com: My fiction site. Bookmark it. If ff.net ever has problems, all installments of my stories will be posted – without interruption – on this site.


	23. Chapter 22 Journeyman

Disclaimer: The very talented people at Squaresoft own these characters; I'm just borrowing them for a little bit. Buy their games, and give them your money!

==

**At an Arm's Length. . .  
****A Final Fantasy VIII Story**

**Chapter 22: Journeyman**

_I heard his voice. That can't be. But I heard his voice, I saw him – I think – and then … _"Trepe?" _Hyne, no answer. _"Quistis?"__

_Oh, Hyne. I can't see. _Quistis blinked in a dazed fashion as she felt her way back to the wall.

Irvine walked slowly toward where he had last heard his commanding officer. _Where *was* she? Damn, night vision *seemed* like a good idea. _Then he stumbled. _A body. Not Quistis. Not Seifer. It's the suspect._ He knelt down. _The creep still has a pulse, but he seems to be in shock. _

Mechanically, he stood and reactivated his communicator. "This is Kinneas. Suspect down. I repeat, suspect down and unconscious. Send back-up and a paramedic. Over." _That blue light. Like when she apprehended the assassin in Timber._

_Can't breathe. So dark._

"Quistis, come on, babe. Where _are _you?" He enabled his night vision goggles, again. "Make some noise for me." His eyes swept the green-tinted area, and he narrowed in on a darkened spot near the hallway's dead end. "God, Quistis, you O.K.?" 

_Where'd he go?_

"Come on, Q. Breathe for me." Irvine flipped off the goggles and pulled them down around his neck. In an almost singular motion, he took a seat next to her on the floor, propping her up beside him and against the wall. "Come on. You're the unflappable Quistis Trepe. You can do this." He squeezed her hand, and she responded by returning the gesture. "I'm turning on my flashlight now. Close your eyes."

He did the same and reopened them a second later. _She looks like she's seen a ghost._ "What happened?"

"I don't know … I think I saw Seifer, but he's – he's not here, is he?" she whispered breathlessly.

"He's not, but Quistis, I need to know: Are you junctioned?"

"No."

"Dang. Did you cast any –?"

"NO! No blue magic. I didn't. At least, I didn't _intentionally_. I heard his voice – warning me – and I saw him and then … I don't _know_?" She rubbed her temple and looked Irvine in the eye. 

"I don't, either. I saw him and heard him, too." A grim, but determined grin played upon his lips, as he tapped the goggles still around his neck. "You saw him. I saw him. And I recorded the whole thing."

Her eyes widened. _Leave it to the sniper._

"As far as everyone else needs to know, for now, you junctioned and used a GF. This damage kind of looks like Shiva's work. O.K.?"

"O.K.," she nodded. 

"All right. We'll figure this out," he muttered to her urgently, as he pulled her to her feet. "They're coming."

*****

Seifer opened his front door to be greeted by brilliant sunshine and –

"CONGRATULATIONS!"

And Fujin waving the early edition of the FH newspaper in his face. "What is this?"  
  
"You're CLEARED," she smiled brightly. "It's OVER."

He scratched his head and motioned for her to enter his home. "Hate to rain on your parade, Fu," he said, pulling out a chair for her at his kitchen table. He then smiled ruefully, "It will _never_ be over."

"Seifer," she responded softly. "It's a start. You can do _anything_. Now you don't have any limits." _Other than the ones you place upon yourself._

He pushed away from the table and rose to put on some coffee. "So how's my nephew doing this morning?"

Her eyes narrowed. "He slept through the night, but I can _tell_ you're trying to change the subject. Besides, there's something else in the paper you should see."

In two strides, he was looking over her shoulder. It was an article about attempted violence at the conference where they had voted to clear him. "So?"

"There was an assassination attempt. Three guesses as to who helped break it up." She looked up at him. "The first two don't count."

"Quistis," he murmured. _And_ _it happened at about the same time as my …_

"It coincidently happened around when you had your nightmare."

Seifer froze. 

"They say she junctioned to take him down," she added.

He shook his head, "That _can't_ be right. If_ I_ were Quistis, I'd be trying obsessively to get my memory back. And that –"

"Would destroy any progress?"

"Yes," he answered tersely. "I need to –" He stopped himself, rolled his eyes at himself and shook his head again.

"Seifer, Rai and Shin and I – you'll always have a place here with us. If it's what you need to do, right now …" Fujin took a deep breath and exhaled, "You've _got _to do what you need to do." 

"I'll leave tomorrow, then."

She smiled slowly. "Where to? Quistis?"

"No. Maybe. Well … _eventually_?" A shadow of his once-familiar smirk broke across his face, and his eyes lit up for the first time in way too long. "I need to see if I can find some answers before that. I'm going to Centra."

==  
**Next chapter: Same bat time, same bat channel next Tuesday/Thursday.**  
== 

Author's Notes: We hit 110 reviews. Thanks, gang! Your support means so much to me and keeps me on-task! On to the individual notes:

- setobsessed: Glad you like the internal dialogues. There's more on the way.

- AWf4tf: Well, he kind of made a physical interest. Aren't you glad Irvine was there with Quisty? Two people wouldn't hallucinate the same thing at the same time. I think. ;-)

- sabacat: Cliffhanger! But it was such a logical place to stop. We're finally getting to chapters that don't read as vignettes and are starting to tie some things together. I'm psyched.

- Aurons-girl-18: Thanks for reading and reviewing.

- Quistis88: I'm a couple days late (sorry) but it's up!! :-) BTW: She has an awesome story, "Destiny Awaits," currently in progress.

- star112: There's going to be _plenty _more Seifer action. I _love_ Seifer action.

Please leave reviews. I love reviews. I'm a total review-junkie. (And hey: it's an easy way to get mentioned in the "Author's Notes"!) 

Thanks, again! Be sure to check out my sites if you get a chance …

- Absolute-0.com: Anime, manga, movie and music reviews (plus my professional portfolio)

- ProjectSurlyGirl.com: My fiction site. Bookmark it. If ff.net ever has problems, all installments of my stories will be posted – without interruption – on this site.


	24. Chapter 23 A Long and Winding Road

Disclaimer: The very talented people at Squaresoft own these characters; I'm just borrowing them for a little bit. Buy their games, and give them your money!

==

**At an Arm's Length. . .  
****A Final Fantasy VIII Story**

**Chapter 23: A Long and ****Winding Road******

_She asked why I was going to Centra, and I had no answer, Instructor. I mean, I couldn't very well tell Fujin, "Hey, I'm going back to my childhood home where Sorceress Edea raised me and unknowingly planted seeds that eventually helped me lead myself to my own downfall." _

_She'd freak._

_And I wouldn't blame her. Even *I* think it sounds a little crazy. _

_So I didn't tell her. I've headed in the *direction* of Centra, so I'm not being entirely dishonest. To her. _

_Myself? Well … that's a different matter. _

_In the end, lying to myself turned out to be my greatest talent. I told myself that I was strong, but I wasn't strong enough in most important way. You would be proud of me in that sense: I finally got the message. Now, I need to figure out what to do with this knowledge._

_Some of the people of Fisherman's Horizon – Raijin and Fujin's neighbors – were actually sorry to see me go. This is something I truly can't comprehend, but then again, most of them have reasons they ended up there, themselves. They are more forgiving than most. _

_Others won't be. The worst part is that I deserve their scorn and hatred. I'd hate me if I were them. I hate myself for all I've done. _

_I may be free and clear in a technical, legal sense, but I know – in my heart – that I'm guilty. I want to take responsibility. It's going to be a difficult path, a long road …_

_But before I turn myself in to __Galbadia__Garden__ – so many of my crimes took place in their jurisdiction – I *need* to understand why you and I have this weird connection._

_I've seen too much in my lifetime to believe in coincidence.  So I figured I'd go back to where it all began: Edea's house. _

_Where I met you. Where we played "post office." Where, now, I'm not so sure that our "imaginary friends" were just figments of our young, overactive minds._

_When I find those answers – then and only then – do I dare approach you and finish what I started to tell you during Time Compression._

_Quistis, I'm sorry._

_-- Journal of Seifer Almasy  
February 8, XXXX_

==                
**Next chapter: Same bat time, same bat channel next Tuesday/Thursday.  
**==

Author's Notes: I know this chapter is short, but this was a logical place to break. Seifer's on the move … ;-) 

Also, my birthday – ick, another decade – is on Friday, and I'm heading out of town, so time was a little shorter than I would have personally liked. Thanks for sticking around so long. I've got a couple of days off over the next few weeks, so the next few chapters should be fairly long. I didn't want to leave ya'll *totally* hanging in the meantime.

- setobsessed: Thanks for sticking with me through this. In the words of Bartles & Jaymes, "Thanks for your support." ;-)

- Caleb Nova: Thanks for reviewing. I'm bookmarking your story so I can check it out during my vacation days … you've got me intrigued.

- Quistis88: Did Seifer answer your question? ;-) As you've probably guessed, I'm trying to get back into a regular schedule.

- star112: Irvine plays a VERY important role in this fic. You'll see. As for Seifer finding answers … hmm, hmm, hmm. (I'm trying to look and sound innocent and not succeeding very well.) 

I love reviews, so if you feel the urge, go ahead and hit the little button to the bottom left of the page. I really love and appreciate the feedback.

Thanks, again! Be sure to check out my sites if you get a chance …

- Absolute-0.com: Anime, manga, movie and music reviews (plus my professional portfolio)

- ProjectSurlyGirl.com: My fiction site. Bookmark it. If ff.net ever has problems, all installments of my stories will be posted – without interruption – on this site.


	25. Chapter 24 Forward March

Disclaimer: The very talented people at Squaresoft own these characters; I'm just borrowing them for a little bit. Buy their games, and give them your money!

==

**At an Arm's Length. . .  
****A Final Fantasy VIII Story**

**Chapter 24: Forward March**

_"The simple plans are often the ones that work best."_

_Award another point to my dear Instructor,_ Seifer thought as he approached the Centra Ruins, illuminated by the early morning sun. _I'm more than halfway there._

_Of course, I wasn't counting on being eaten alive by insects._ He wiped sweat from his brow and trudged on. _This'll teach me to get so out of shape._

*****

Quistis could barely contain a deep scowl as she, Selphie and Irvine flopped down on the soft leather couch just outside Cid's office. 

Her expression didn't go unnoticed by the cowboy, who squeezed his girlfriend's hand and looked over to his best friend. "Hey. What's with you?"

The blonde just rolled her eyes in exasperation. "I'm sorry … that you two got dragged into this –"

"Quistis," Selphie interrupted in a loud, but cheerful voice. She continued softly, "What do you mean you 'got us dragged into this'? We've been _in_ this since we were dropped off at the orphanage."

Irvine concurred with a less graceful, "Yup." Just then, the door opened, and the three jumped to attention.

"The Headmaster will see you now."

They nodded in unison and entered the office to face a stern-looking Cid. "At ease." And they took their seats.

"Miss Trepe, what is this I hear about you junctioning?"

She rose to respond. "Sir, it was the most expedient way to halt the suspect without civilian casualties. I do, however, apologize for the strength of my GF attack. It's been a while since I've junctioned a Guardian Force, and I'm a little rusty, sir."

"That will be enough, Miss Trepe. Please be seated."

Quistis looked at her supervisor/father figure coolly, trying to anticipate his next move, as she stiffly returned to her chair.

"Mr. Kinneas?"

"Yes, sir?" Irvine rose.

"No hats indoors."

"Um, sorry, sir." He brushed back his bangs, as he removed his headwear and returned to attention.

"Don't make me remind you again," the older man said testily. "What did you see?"

"Sir, I was more than 250 feet behind Miss Trepe when she reported to me, via her comlink, that they were heading toward the dead end. I enabled my night vision and deactivated my long-range sights as I approached her position. That was where I was blinded by the light of her GF's attack. For the record, sir, it was Shiva."

Cid frowned again, as he looked at the paperwork in his file folder. "That certainly seems to line up with the forensic evidence."

"Yes, sir."

"You may be seated. Miss Tilmitt?"

"Yes, sir," Selphie answered cheerfully.

"Just why is it you are here?"

"Miss Trepe is my friend and commanding officer, and Mr. Kinneas is my fiancé. I have a vested interest in the situation."

Cid's eyebrow rose. _Engaged? This is the first I've heard of it_. "That will be all, Miss Tilmitt. SeeDs, you are dismissed," he finished quietly.

After the door had shut firmly behind his charges, Edea peeked in from the adjoining room, where she had been listening to the entire exchange. "They're sticking to their story like I thought they would."

"Damn it," her husband cursed, removing his trusty, wire-rimmed frames and rubbing his temple. "It's frustrating that they're this good at lying through their teeth."

She chuckled softly and moved to sit in the chair nearest him. "We taught them that."

"Don't remind me," he groaned. "I just wish I knew _why _they're doing this."

Edea sighed heavily. "Well, considering the debacle regarding Quistis' memories of Seifer, they don't exactly trust me like they once did. And there's no real reason for them to trust you … " Her voice trailed off thoughtfully, and her fingers softly tapped Cid's leather address book.

"What?"

"I'm beginning to think there_ is_ someone else involved in this. I can't believe we didn't see it before!" Edea jumped from her seat, a huge smile gracing her features, as Cid looked at her in confusion. "I _knew_ there was a reason Laguna was taking such a personal interest in obtaining Seifer's pardon!"

"So what should we do in the meantime?" He asked reaching for her hand before her almost-jig took her just out of his grasp.

"Nothing," she grinned happily. "I just feel better that they're not totally alone on this one."

*****

"Geez, I've never been grilled so thoroughly about a mission before," Irvine groaned as he followed Selphie into Quistis' room.

Quistis regarded him before pointedly replying, "That shows how short a time you've been a SeeD. Anyway … " She flopped down on her desk chair, and sighed, "I'm glad that's over."

Selphie giggled. "I didn't think you got nervous about things like this, Q."

"I don't … normally. Because _normally_, I'm not filing false reports," Quistis frowned to herself.

"You don't think they believed you?" Selphie's eyes widened.

"Nope."

"Sephie, they wouldn't have called us in if they believed us in the first place," Irvine drawled, placing an arm around her shoulder.

"So what's next?"

Quistis sat up. "You, Irvine and I find out what the hell is going on and what it has to do with Seifer. Selphie, you saw the recording: First he was there, then he wasn't –"

"And his warning prevented you from getting clocked!"

"Thanks for reminding me, Selphie," Quistis finished sullenly.

"It's just that, Quistis, this reminds me of the stories I used to read as a kid, fairy tales, really –"

"Fairy tales?" the blonde echoed softly. "Fairy tales!"

"Q, I'm not making light of it!"

"No, Selphie! You just reminded me of something!" Quistis hopped up and ran across the small room to fetch her phone. "The library, please," she said into the receiver and then cupped her hand over it. "The night … _that_ night … Hello? Is Tara working tonight? She is? No, no message. Thank you." She hung up the phone and pivoted around, with a flourish, to face the couple sitting side-by-side on her bed.

"The night I found the photo, I was in your room, Selphie, because I wanted to ask you a question about a book I found," she reported breathlessly. "It was an old book of fairy tales … Anyway, Tara has been trying to figure out its origin, since there seems to be no information about it in the library's system."

Irvine rose, pulling Selphie up with him. "Well, what are we waiting for? To the library!"

*****

_I *could* have stopped when I reached the shore, but *no,* that wasn't good enough. I just *had* to cross the channel and get from there to here in one day,_ Seifer chastised himself as he hurried down the overgrown paths that led to the orphanage. The sun's dying rays only hastened his pace, and by the time he reached the last bend, he had almost broken into a full-blown run. 

_Closer. Closer._ He turned the corner and saw his destination – the place where he spent a sunny childhood playing along the shore. It was now a dilapidated and ruined ghost whose best days were long behind her. 

His blue-green eyes filled with tears, and for once, he didn't feel the need to hide them. 

_I'm home._

==                
**Next chapter: Same bat time, same bat channel next Tuesday/Thursday.  
**==

Author's Notes: We're back on schedule! 

- AW4tf: Thank you for continuing to review. It means a lot me that you say you don't know where it is ultimately going … that means I'm hitting the right balance. (It's hard for me to judge since I've already got it all planned out!)

- Quistis88: Where do you find the time to read so many stories and then produce your own! (Check out her fic – "Destiny Awaits". It's very entertaining!!)

- setobsessed: Thanks, again! The fact you are still with this baby is so encouraging.

- Caleb Nova: Thanks for the second review. I've checked out your story, too. (Not only did Seifer make an entrance, he made a very in-character entrance!)

- QuistisTrepe1402: Thanks for reading!

- Anonymous: Thanks for such a nice review and the holiday/birthday wishes; you really brightened my day. I'm glad you're enjoying it so far.

- Noqui: Thanks for reading and reviewing. I'm going to hold you to it! ;-)

I love reviews, so if you feel the urge, go ahead and hit the little button to the bottom left of the page. I really appreciate the feedback.

Thanks, again! Be sure to check out my sites if you get a chance …

- Absolute-0.com: Anime, manga, movie and music reviews (plus my professional portfolio)

- ProjectSurlyGirl.com: My fiction site. Bookmark it. If ff.net ever has problems, all installments of my stories will be posted – without interruption – on this site.


	26. Chapter 25 Fire Cross

Disclaimer: The very talented people at Squaresoft own these characters; I'm just borrowing them for a little bit. Buy their games, and give them your money!

==

**At an Arm's Length. . .**

**A Final Fantasy VIII Story**

**Chapter 25: Fire Cross**

Seifer slowly approached Edea's house as the eerie quiet of twilight enveloped his surroundings. One hand found its way to the pocket of his trench and involuntarily started to fidget with the lighter he kept hidden within its folds.

Click. Click.

He stood at the structure's front door.

Click. Click.

He continued to stand on the stoop.

Click – "Damn it!" he muttered, catching himself before a controlled flame escaped from the device. "What am I trying to do here? Catch myself on fire?"

_Damn. That's just the kind of thing *she* would say._ He grimaced to himself. _But which "she"? _

He used to be able to tell himself he was referring to Matron, but increasingly he found the former instructor on his mind. "Ughh."

He pulled the silver-plated lighter, a gift from Raijin, out of his pocket and took a deep breath as he pounded on the battered door. 

_No answer._ He flicked on the lighter. The young man exhaled, tested the handle – _unlocked – and stepped over the threshold. _What am I afraid of anyway?__

The single flame cast a faint glow over the few pieces of tattered furniture that remained in the room. He moved along its perimeter, by the windows and toward the kitchen. Some grease stains on the floor – _a camping stove? _– told him that _someone_ had_ been there. __And fairly recently, he grinned._

_I wonder if they made it to our bedrooms…_

His boots clunked loudly up the stairs, and he paused as the top step let out a noticeable creeeaak. One corner of his mouth pulled upward into a smirk. _Just like old times. No matter how quiet I try to be, everything sounds louder in this house. O.K., the first bedroom here on the … right._

There was no mistaking it. This was the view – of the water and beach – that he remembered from his childhood. He leaned on the window's sill and dumped his duffle bag with a satisfying thud. _Forget dinner, I could just stay here all night…_

==

He awoke several hours later, slumped near the same window. A rather inelegant snort escaped him as he raked his right hand through his mussed hair. His eyes fell to a thread on the floor that seemed to capture the very glow of the moonlight. He picked it up carefully. A long thread of blond hair. _Quistis. _

_You, or whoever was here, had the right idea. Exploring can wait until tomorrow.  _He quickly laid his sleeping bag out and fell asleep almost the instant his head hit the hard, but covered, floor.

==

_Seifer. Seifer. It's time to get up._

"But I don't wanna…" he replied, half-asleep.

_Seifer. Look._

He sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes groggily. _Still upstairs at the orphanage. _He looked around. _Still alone. What the fu—?_

He paused mid-curse as his gaze fell on the extraordinary scene just beyond his window._ Now *that* is a moon! That voice… but… it wasn't the sorceress'. It sounded more familiar, he thought while he pulled a light sweater over his traveling clothes and tugged at his boots._

Instinctively, he thundered down the stairs and off the porch toward the beach. He walked along the moonlit shoreline until he reached a remote point just far enough from the orphanage to be private.

_On a night like this, it seems as if anything could happen…_

_Sometimes it does_, replied the voice from behind him. 

He flung himself around. _No one here?!_

_We're always watching._

"What good is watching if you don't do anything," he grumbled and continued on his way through the entrance of a cave. "Wait… you were the one of… you left us gifts, didn't you?"

No answer. 

Seifer's eyes narrowed. _Sure, now you're quiet._

_From Quistis._

His eyes widened considerably, and he dropped to the floor. With some effort (and a few more choice words), he fit his adult-sized fingers into the child-sized cubby. A small, but familiar package found its way into his palm. _The handkerchief_, but this time the ribbon was tied – apparently hastily – in the way only girls can tie such things. A curious smile came over his features as he opened the parcel and discovered a thin gold band with a cluster of tiny sapphires. _Quistis' ring._

He examined it more closely and tried to slide it onto his pinky. _Tiny. It doesn't even fit over the first joint._

"Ah!" He unclasped his silver necklace and slid it onto the chain. As he fastened it securely around his neck, the ring fell into a resting place over the cross pendant he had commissioned from one of the craftsmen at Fisherman's Horizon.

_Look. _

He did, and a blue flame – _just like Quistis that day – emitted from the ring fusing it to the cross._

He stared at it, confused but, strangely enough, still calm. 

_Be strong. For Quistis._

"Who are you? And what do you want from me?" he asked aloud, reminding himself silently that losing it wouldn't help the situation.

_Repent._

==

The sound of waves crashing on the beach accompanied the bright sunlight that beat down on him when he awoke the next morning.

"Hyne," he squinted, then lowered his head. "Please don't let it be another sorceress…"

Seifer's eyes fell upon the transformed charm. "You know you're in trouble when you start listening to the voices in your head," he whispered. "Repent."

==              

**Next chapter: No Good Deed Goes Unpunished**

==

Author's Notes: I took an incredibly long hiatus. (It's been hard getting back into this.) I know I suck. But you rock for taking time to read this. ^_^ 

I love reviews, so if you feel the urge, go ahead and hit the little button to the bottom left of the page. I really appreciate the feedback.

Thanks, again! Be sure to check out my sites if you get a chance …

- Absolute-0.com: Anime, manga, movie and music reviews (plus my professional portfolio)

- ProjectSurlyGirl.com: My fiction site. Bookmark it. If ff.net ever has problems, all installments of my stories will be posted – without interruption – on this site.


	27. Chapter 26 No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

Disclaimer: The very talented people at Squaresoft own these characters; I'm just borrowing them for a little bit. Buy their games, and give them your money!

==

**At an Arm's Length. . .**

**A Final Fantasy VIII Story**

**Chapter 26: No Good Deed Goes Unpunished**

"Hey!" the jostled, junior SeeD cadet exclaimed before he realized who comprised the loud, giggling, hyper-powered flash that unintentionally pounded him into the corridor's wall.

"Sorry, dude," drawled Irvine, who followed behind at a slightly more leisurely pace. He continued with a note of annoyance in his voice, "We all know how much my Selphie likes to cast 'Haste' on herself."

"IRVINE!!"

"Sorry, gotta go!"

The cowboy was off. 

_And before I could get their autographs. Damn it! Nobody back at the dorm is going to believe this._

*****

The petite, yellow-clad girl stomped her foot impatiently. "IRVINE! Hurry up!"

"Selphie, why did you have to do that? We only made it here slightly before him anyway," Quistis fussed between gasps for air.

"IR-"

"Hey! I had to apologize to the junior you almost killed in your rush to get here," he answered shortly. "Besides, what was the big rush anyway? Tara's shift doesn't end for another two hours."

"But Irvine."

Quistis rolled her eyes and quietly backed away from the couple, whose little argument was starting to take on a life of its own. _I might as well give them some privacy and go ahead into the library._

_They'll come in once they're done, anyway, _she thought as she made her way through the main hall to the research rooms. _All the way in the back._

"Good afternoon, is Tara in?"

"Oh! Hello, Miss Trepe," the flustered intern responded. "Why don't you wait in her office, and I'll get her."

"Thank you," she responded, but the young girl had already scurried from the small room.

Quistis sat down in one of the chairs across from her acquaintance's desk. _This is a little too like the detention rooms for me to get comfortable._

"Quistis!"

She stood up and received an enthusiastic hug from Zell's steady.

"I'm _so _sorry we haven't had time to meet about the book," Tara started digging through her file cabinet. "I mean, I haven't found much more information since what I mentioned in October, and - oh, Hyne! - could you help me with this?"

"Sure!" The blonde moved to accept the big box the librarian was now lifting down from _on top _of the file cabinet, her knees almost buckling under the package's unexpected heft.

"It's just not very much!"

Quistis looked at her in disbelief. "You call all of this 'not very much?'" She set the box down and opened it to reveal a report just inside. "You even wrote me an executive summary!"

As the two young women sat down on their respective sides of the desk, Tara frowned. "That's just the thing: It _may look_ like a lot, but Quistis. there's nothing concrete.

"There's no publisher, no international catalog number, nothing. So I snipped a corner from one of its back pages and sent it to be aged."

Quistis shifted to the edge of her seat.

"What did they say?" questioned a masculine voice, as Irvine and a slightly subdued Selphie entered the office and also pulled up chairs.

"It's at least 100 years old, but it might be a great deal older," Tara sighed. "So I decided to take a slightly more anthropological approach."

"Thatta girl!" "Yay!"

_Those two are just about back to their normal selves, _Quistis smiled. Her attention returned back to the "girl" who was now unearthing a map out from under the small mountain of research materials.

"Here." Tara spread out the map and pointed to the peninsula that had been their childhood home. "This is where it starts. I tracked the incidences and frequency of this story about the blue lights. How it traveled throughout our world. The first known occurrence took place near where the orphanage was, but it happened so long ago that I couldn't find a firm date, just a timeframe."

She paused for effect. "One thousand years ago."

The look of disbelief on her guests' faces caused her to chuckle. "Come on. Is it really _that_ hard to believe that this would happen around the same time as the first _recorded _Sorceress?"

Quistis silently clenched and unclenched her hands, until she realized they were all staring at her. "What? The thought of more sorceresses makes me a little tense."

"Testy Trepe," giggled Tara. "Although considering what all of you have been through, it's to be expected.

"It started here. Then every 30 to 50 years or so, the story and reports of a written version pop up in various countries, but none of the actual texts are in libraries. Or anywhere else, for that matter."

Quistis frowned slightly and cleared her throat. "So you're saying that these books are - or this book is - reported to appear. The story is then shared via storytellers or disseminated in some way. And then the original text seems to disappear?"

"From what I can tell. yes?"

"So where was the most recent sighting? How long ago?"

"About 22 years ago. In Esthar."

The former instructor slumped back into her seat. "I'm sorry for the interrogation."

"That's O.K. There's one more interesting thing, though," Tara said, pulling the book out of the box and opening it up to an illustration. "What does this look like to you?"

The threesome stood up and pored over the brightly illuminated artwork. A chipper voice piped up from over Irvine's shoulder, "Omigosh! It looks like SHIVA!" 

"How did I never see this?" Quistis muttered, half to herself.

"Oh, but it gets BETTER," Tara continued. She fiddled with some more papers and shoved one in front of the SeeDs. "This is just a hunch, after seeing that drawing."

Quistis went pale as she read the carefully prepared chart. "The book's appearance could be linked to sightings of Shiva and the other GFs!"

*****

It was the first time in what seemed like forever that he had traveled through a populated location in the daylight.

_SeeD training comes in handy yet again_, thought Seifer as he walked briskly through the bustling streets of the tourist trap just north of Esthar's Sorceress Memorial. He adjusted the visor of his cap. _Just one more traveler passing through._

"How many times do I have to tell you that you're _not_ old enough to_ not_ hold my hand, kiddo?"

"I know, Mom. The bad men are around here."

Seifer's mouth set itself into a grim line. _There's a slight chance they're talking about me, but I *did* read that there had been a string of kidna-_

"Kira???!! KIRA!" A frantic shriek was heard from across the street. "THAT MAN HAS MY DAUGHTER!!"

His eyes looked up to meet those of a pregnant woman and just as quickly they shot in the direction toward which she was attempting, unsuccessfully, to run. 

Toward a dark figure dragging a screaming and yelling girl. _She can't be more than eight years old! CRAP!_

He took off running and easily passed the young mother. "Get the police! I won't lose them!" _Come on, kid. Keep fighting. Buy me some time. I'm coming. _

As they turned the corner into an alley, her screams grew a little more faint. _Come on. Hold on. Damn it. Almost there._ He dumped his bag and Hyperion_. Just a little -_

_A dead end. Kid, we're both lucky this one's a moron._

Seifer watched the trapped man frantically look for another means of escape. "Let the girl go, NOW."

The creep looked up and sneered. "Or what."

_Famous last words._

Seifer efficiently swept the perp's feet out from under him. The child went flying, but the creep was now in a headlock.

"You O.K., sweetie?" Seifer shouted across to the dazed little girl, who responded by nodding. "All right. Now go - RUN - to your Mommy and have her bring the police right back here. Do you understand?" 

Another nod.

"Good girl," he smiled at her. "Now GO!"

Seifer waited until she had turned the corner to safety. His eyes then narrowed as he looked back down at the grungy, middle-aged man he was restraining. "Go ahead. Try it," he sneered. "I'm _always_ in the mood for a good fight."

The would-be kidnapper settled down and accepted that this was one he wouldn't and couldn't win.

_Damn. Damn! DA__M__N! And I was trying to be inconspicuous._

A scuffling could be heard in the distance a few minutes later. "Over here!" 

Members of the town's volunteer police force made their way around the corner to find one man had pinned the other down with one of those fancy headlocks they teach in officer training camp.

"FREEZE! Back away from each other."

The girl's mother was close behind. "But officer, the gentleman in the hat is who rescued -"

"Ma'am. It's procedure to cuff everyone up and take'em back to the station." The officer-in-charge continued, "You and Kira are coming -"

"JACKPOT!"  

"Too." 

He shot a condescending look at the rookie, who had just pulled the hat off of the tall young man who had _allegedly _rescued the child. "Jeez! You interrupt me when I'm trying to explain the procedure to Mrs. Zabac - "

"But Sarg, look who _we have here_: It's SEIFER ALMASY!"

==              

**Next chapter: Chapter 27 - Title yet undecided.**

==

Author's Notes: Hi, again! The updates might be few and far between, but I will NEVER abandon this baby. (The entire story is plotted out. It's just hard finding the time to write it.) ^_^'

If you feel so inclined, please hit the review button or send me an e-mail (aligator@projectsurlygirl.com). Knowing that people besides me are actually reading this gives me added incentive to keep it up. 

Thanks, again! Be sure to check out my sites if you get a chance .

- Absolute-0.com: Anime, manga, movie and music reviews (plus my professional portfolio)

- ProjectSurlyGirl.com: My fiction site. Bookmark it. If ff.net ever has problems, all installments of my stories will be posted - without interruption - on this site.


End file.
